Siloam Springs discusses 2020 financials

SILOAM SPRINGS — Christina Petriches, finance director/treasurer, said the city had a good year despite the covid-19 pandemic, as she delivered the 2020 year-end financials during the city board meeting last week.

She began her report by talking about how the city budget had items cut from it due to the uncertainty related to the coronavirus.

“When we put the money back into the budget for all of the different funds there was a lot of that budget that went unspent,” Petriches said.

Items cut and replaced in the budget were done internally and came from divisions such as operations, personnel and some capital, she said. The main categories included initiating a hiring freeze for several months, and cancelling travel for training and budget cuts from all funds, the report states.

The general fund lost $140,000 due to a pump issue related to sales of cooling water, Petriches said. Losses due to the pandemic totaled approximately $400,000, which were attributed to fewer ambulance runs, less participation in Parks and Recreation Programs as well as the Family Aquatic Center and fewer memberships at the library, she said.

Siloam Springs did receive a grant related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act for $595,811, which helped put the budget back in the black, Petriches said.

In addition to the budget cuts, two large projects requiring public participation were delayed until 2021, Petriches said. Those projects included the Comprehensive Plan which the city started up a few days ago and the Main Street Design Project, which the city has not announced a start date.

The Streets Department had additional revenue due to an unbudgeted grant in the amount of $630,000 for a drainage project, Petriches said. Expenses in this department were kept low due to both the coronavirus and weather related delays on the Kenwood Widening Project, Petriches said.

Water and sewer sales were up about $300,000 over budget due to increases in housing, the report states. Electric sales were below budget by $1.4 million and power cost declined $2.1 million, Petriches said. Transfers based on utility sales increased as a result of increased revenues, Petriches said.

Transfers between funds increased as well for 2020, Petriches said. Transfers from electric, water, waste water and solid waste to the general fund amounted to $8,816,310, the report states. Utility sales exceeded the 2020 budget by $1.3 million, Petriches said.

Operation expenses did exceed the utility budget by $320,000 due to a failure at the wastewater plant, Petriches said. The failure came when a system to use gray water to process waste rather than potable water failed, resulting in the need to purchase potable water, Petriches said.

Siloam Springs Municipal Airport saw decreases in fuel sales and fuel purchases, Petriches said. Fuel sales decreased by $211,238 and purchases decreased by $149,029, she said. Petriches attributed this also to less grant revenue, although the city did receive a $30,000 grant administered under the CARES Act in May of last year.

Despite the coronavirus, the city had a good year, Petriches said. Total revenues exceeded expenditures by more than budget, Petriches said.

State law requires that the city publish the financial statements prior to April 1, Petriches said. The city will submit them to the Siloam Springs Herald-Leader for publishing on March 21, according to a staff report prepared by Petriches on Feb. 23.