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Finance expert gives Alpine a thumbs up March 7, 2017, 4:18 pmOgden found that the city was in good shape. He reported to the Alpine City Council that the city was doing very well financially. The only areas of concern are the water and storm drain funds, which are running at a deficit. The city needs to keep an eye on those, Ogden said. He said that the recent increase in water rates should remedy the problem. The only irregularity he found was that the street impact fees had not been spent by the end of the fiscal year. Utah law requires that such fees have to be spent within six years after collection or they have to be refunded. He noted that even with the deficit in the governmental water activity, there was enough revenue from the business activities or taxes and interest that they showed a $30,000 profit. Most cities carry what is called an unassigned fund balance (the residual balance of the general fund) which, by law, can only between 5 and 25 percent of the general fund. Currently, the city's fund balance is at 19 percent, which Ogden said is very good. Ogden praised the city's long-term debt. Currently the city has only one bond out: a $3.6 million water bond. The payments are $350,000 a year and the city has 10 years left in payments on it. He said it was impressive for the city to have only one bond with the amount of growth Alpine had had. Alpine was to be commended for keeping its debt under control, he said.
Mid-Year Budget
In January, City Treasurer Alice Winberg reported some financial facts to the city council:Adjustment o Currently the city has $284,997 in the Bank of American Fork, $13,114,159 in the public treasurer's investment fund and $1,000 in petty cash. o At half-way through the fiscal year, the city had received 90 percent of projected property tax revenue about 80 percent of the projected revenue for building permits. o Other revenue was at around 50 percent except for business license revenue, which was at 11 percent. Business licenses renew every calendar year rather than the fiscal year, so most of the revenue from licenses came in during the second half of the fiscal year. o Pending projects utilizing impact fees included 100 South improvements, a Smooth Canyon Park playground and 600 North storm drain improvements. Winberg reported that last year's Alpine Days ran at a deficit of $59,202, which was covered by the city. They would probably need to amend the budget for fiscal year 2016-17 to transfer funds in order to balance the budget, she said. Winberg said the city had budgeted $40,000 for expenses and anticipated revenues of $20,000 for the event. The actual expenditures for Alpine Days were $141,092, with revenues at $81,890. The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2024 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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