Audit confirms CBRM surplus.
Long-term debt considered ‘manageable’ by municipality’s CFO
An external audit of CBRM finances shows the municipality recorded a surplus of more than one million dollars in the last fiscal year.
In examining records for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2017, the Sydney-based accounting firm MGM and Associates confirmed that CBRM revenues exceeded its expenditures by almost $1.2 million.
The report’s figures show that over the 2016-17 fiscal year, the CBRM spent $147,084,473, while it brought in $148,269,745 for a surplus of $1,185,273.
Municipality CFO Jennifer Campbell said the annual audit serves as a confirmation that the CBRM’s own internal books are accurate.
“They perform test of details, they look for supporting documentation for the amounts that are reported, they ensure that they are complete and valued correctly and they also test internal controls around processes,” explained Campbell, who was reached in Truro where she is attending the fall conference of the provincial Association of Municipal Administrators.
“We received a clean audit report, a healthy report card — there were no surprises which is always good.”
Campbell attributes the surplus to lower than anticipated expenditures, especially in the engineering and public works department, which spent more than one million dollars less than its allocated $43-million budget.
The audit also contained information about the municipality’s long-term debt. That figure is presently at $54 million, but according to Campbell a more realistic number is $72 million when the additional borrowing requirements for capital projects budgeted for over the past two years are taken into consideration.
“It (CBRM’s long-term debt) has become quite manageable for the municipality at this point — it was somewhat out of control a number of years ago until our borrowing policy, which was implemented by our current CAO Marie Walsh, came
into play,” she said.
“It’s really come down to a level that the municipality can afford and it continues to go down every year — council has been on board in staying with that policy so our capital borrowing for the year never exceeds what we’re paying down in principal, that means our debt continues to go down every year.”
District 10 Coun. Darren Bruckschwaiger, who also serves as the vice-chair of the CBRM’s audit committee, said he was pleased with the results of the audit. He described the municipality’s financial situation as “steady as she goes right now and hoping for a better future.”
“Audits are really a snapshot of the past — overall, considering the downturn, I think we’re doing good, but I’m not happy with everything,” he said.
“Our long-term debt is always a concern for us, but it’s no worse than it was at (municipal) amalgamation, we’re 22 years into this marriage — we’ve been basically managing decline since that time and it’s not easy to manage decline.”
Campbell concurred. And, the former CBRM finance manager, who assumed CFO duties in August, said the municipality will continue to be challenged in respect to its annual budget.
“Our costs tend to creep up more quickly than our revenues, so we do face the challenge of balancing our budget every year,” said Campbell.
“We’re very fortunate this year to end up with an operating surplus which will certainly help us going forward should anything unexpected come up.”
The auditor’s report was accepted by council’s audit committee on Monday and is expected to go before the entire council at its next regular meeting.