The City ended the FY 2012 budget year on a positive note. When the FY 2012 original budget was adopted in May of 2011, General Fund expenditures were expected to be $25,816,490. General Fund revenues were expected to be $25,796,804. It was anticipated the General Fund balance would be reduced by $19,686, bringing the City to an estimated General Fund balance of $2,761,232 at the end of the fiscal year. General Fund actual revenues for the year came in at 2.4 percent over budget or $757,534 higher than anticipated. Actual General Fund expenditures were approximately 5 percent less than what had been anticipated. The net result of increased revenues and lower expenses resulted in an addition (or > increase) to General Fund balance by $1,965,930. So, instead of attaining an ending General Fund balance of approximately $2.7M as anticipated in the original budget, the actual General Fund ending balance is approximately $4.7M. None of the amounts I have mentioned in General Fund balance includes the roughly $6M that has been set aside as restricted funds until we are certain that refunds will not need to be made to Techren, Copper Mountain and KOMIPO for upfront solar lease payments.

The results on the Utility Fund side of the house were not quite as positive, but were close to what had been anticipated in the FY 2012 original budget. Net income for all Utility Fund operations was down in FY 2012 when compared to FY 2011. The decrease is in part due to capital projects in the Electric and Water Divisions; SCADA improvements, the 12 kv line replacement, water tank refurbishment and various line upgrades. The City has continued to make accelerated debt service payments in connection with the Third Intake Project, so the $13.6M debt associated with this project can be retired by 2017.

The General Fund is looking much healthier than it has in prior years, yet overall increases in revenues are slight, and some revenue categories are down from the prior year. This is a far cry from the economic growth in the first five years of 2000, but is also a significant improvement over the economic decline of the past several years. Overall, the City’s financial outlook is better than it was last year, and the City’s Financial Plan lays out a roadmap for long-term financial sustainability.

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