Sweetwater County’s budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 has been accepted, and will use under $600,000 of reserve funds to make up for shortfalls between projected revenues and expenditures.
The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the budget during a special meeting last Thursday, June 23.
Projections for FY2023 put revenues at a total of $46,835,696, while projected expenditures total $52,196,690, creating a shortfall of $5,360,994. Grant revenues and approved federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act are expected to bring in another $4.9 million, but grant expenditures are expected to be around $5.1 million, adding over $230,000 to the total shortfall. The difference between total expected revenues and expenditures is $5,591,559.
Sweetwater County Accounting Manager Bonnie Berry told the commissioners the amount of cash carryover from last year is almost enough to cover the budget deficit. Her most recent estimate before the budget meeting was made June 21, when she estimated the cash carryover to equal $5,025,489.03.
“So we’re taking, like, $12 out of reserves?” Commission Chairman Jeff Smith asked Berry jokingly.
Berry said the county will need to use between $500,000 and $600,000 of reserve funds to cover the budget deficit after the cash carryover is applied. With the amount of cash carryover Berry estimated, the remaining amount to be covered would equal $566,069.97.
Compared to the FY2022 budget, both expenditures and revenues are anticipated to increase. Revenue is projected to be up by about $11 million, while expenditures are projected to increase about $6 million.
FY2022’s total shortfall was over $10 million, while this year’s projected shortfall was half as much. FY2023 will also have ARPA funds which weren’t included in the FY2022 budget, which help cover higher grant expenditures.
Thursday’s special meeting started with a summary of the most recent changes to the budget, presented by Berry.
One of the last changes to the budget was made to coincide with decisions the commissioners made regarding funding for ambulance services during the June 21 regular Board of County Commissioners meeting.
Once the most recent changes were discussed, the commissioners briefly discussed considerations including cash carryover, the Cost of Living Adjustment set to be given to county employees, and the timing of federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds, including PILT funds associated with the American Rescue Plan Act, which aren’t anticipated to be received until the fall.
The floor was opened for a public hearing with no comments, after which the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the budget.
“Seeing our cash carryover and the responsibleness overall of how people have budgeted this year, I’m quite happy,” Smith said during a previous budget meeting held June 6.
Reader Comments(0)