City’s Interim Results Are In and Mixed

– By Arthur Stampleman –

A mixed picture is revealed in the City of Rye's latest interim financial report. Released last month, it covers the first three months of 2007. The City's General Fund, which is the main factor determining property taxes, reported a $9.9 million excess of revenues over expenditures, but that was $1 million less than a year ago. The decrease mainly reflects transfers to other funds that had been budgeted.

Quarterly figures are always difficult to evaluate because there are no interim budget data to compare results with, and they are not prepared according to the more comprehensive year-end audit requirements. Any damage suffered in the latest major storm affecting the city is not reflected in the data. (The City's 2006 audited financial report has not yet been published.)

General Fund Revenues for the quarter ended March 31 at $19.3 million were $791,000, or 4.3% higher than in the comparable period in 2006. The increase is largely due to higher property taxes and related items that were up $858,000 or 5.1% — an increase that reflects the 3.96% tax rate increase and a 1.06% increase in taxable assessments.

The revenue increases are slightly offset by decreases in charges for services, fines and forfeitures and inter-fund revenues. Non-tax revenues of $1.5 million for the quarter decreased 4%, whereas a 7% increase in those revenues was budgeted for the year.

General Fund Expenditures totaled $9.4 million for the three months, up $1.8 million or 23.3% from 2006. However, $3.1 million of the total and $1.7 million of the increase were the year's budgeted transfers to other city funds, mainly to the Building & Vehicle Maintenance Fund and the Capital Projects Fund. Excluding those items, the quarter's expenditures were $6.3 million, up $48,000 from the prior year. That increase was less than 1%, while a 5% increase in those expenditures was budgeted for the year.

The General Fund balance sheet is little changed from a year ago. Cash and investments were almost $21 million — the high point for the year because virtually all of the City's property taxes and key revenue source for the year are collected in the first quarter. Working capital was almost $22 million and unreserved fund balances were $19 million. The undesignated fund balance, $14.1 million, was $1.7 million less than the prior year.

The Building and Vehicle Maintenance Fund holds the City's main fixed assets. It reports a $347,000 excess of revenues over expenditures for the period, $90,000 better than 2006. The balance sheet shows a $7 million increase in assets from a year ago offset partly by a $4 million increase in liabilities. Both increases primarily reflect the acquisition of the former CVS building. Fund equity is up $1.6 million.

The full report is available on the, www.ryeny.gov.