Report: City in strong financial position
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The city’s finance commissioner issued its preliminary financial report from 2017 this week, saying for the sixth straight year the prior fiscal year ended with the city in a strong financial position.
The unaudited year-end figures reveal a 2017 annual operating surplus of $917,000, driven by a combination of solid revenue and lower-than-expected expenses, according to Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan.
“While the city faced several budgetary hurdles in 2017, such as prior-period sales tax adjustments and increasing healthcare costs, taxpayers should be pleased to know that through prudent, thoughtful budgeting, the city ended 2017 with an operating surplus,” Madigan said in a news release. “This surplus rolls into the city’s fund balance, and will ensure that city residents and business continue to receive the exceptional and affordable services they have come to know, while the city itself is well positioned to handle future projects and emergencies.”
Actual 2017 revenue collected totaled $44.4 million, while actual 2017 expenditures totaled $43.4 million.
“Each and every department did a fantastic job accomplishing goals on behalf of the community while also creatively managing their respective budgets,” said Madigan. “I commend each City Council member on contributing to this achievement, and hope to see similar results for 2018.”
For 2018, the city is required to have a General Fund unassigned,
unappropriated Fund Balance between $4.6 million and $11.5 million. Unaudited figures indicate that the city’s unassigned, unappropriated general Fund Balance as of year-end 2017 is $9.3 million.
Saratoga Springs has $2.7 million in restricted, also known as assigned, Fund Balance in the form of a retirement reserve, insurance reserve, capital reserves, tax stabilization reserve and other miscellaneous reserves.
The Water Fund ended 2017 with an assigned unappropriated Fund Balance of $2.9 million, while the Water Fund reported a slight deficit of $4,000, the 2017 Adopted Budget had called for a deficit of $196,000, meaning the Water Fund materially outperformed expectations, the release said.
The Water Fund had reported an operating surplus the prior five years, meaning it was well-positioned to absorb a slight deficit without sacrificing any resources.
The Sewer Fund reported an assigned unappropriated fund balance for 2017 of $2.1 million.
This Fund Balance total includes a 2017 operating surplus of $241,000, the eighth consecutive surplus reported by the Sewer Fund, according to Madigan.
“Living in a historic community such as Saratoga Springs has a seemingly endless list of benefits, though that historic nature also comes with a litany of infrastructure demands and needs, which Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco and his department have handled expertly,” said Madigan. “Under his leadership, both the Water and Sewer funds turned around years of deficits and unaddressed infrastructure issues into healthy Fund Balances and proactive strategies to handle the ever growing needs of our vibrant city.”