April 19, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins City Hall – Bigfoot99 file photo
The new fiscal year for local governments starts on July 1. Municipalities must submit their completed budgets to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners by June. Starting in early April, towns open the ledgers and see how much money is collected, called revenue, versus how much is spent, expenditures.
Last Tuesday, the Rawlins city council held its first budget work session. Interim City Manager Tom Sarvey said he was reviewing the previous year’s budget and he found a discrepancy. Last year’s budget contained a mistake where the city’s cash reserves were counted toward the city’s total budget. Sarvey said correcting the error put the city in the red.
The problem, Sarvey said, was cash reserved for emergencies, or so called “rainy days,” was counted toward the amount of money the city collected. He said this puts the city $2 million in the negative heading into the 2024 fiscal year.
The budget is divided into two sections: general funds and proprietary funds. In short, general funds pay for the core duties of the government and proprietary funds are used for business-like activities, such as collecting landfill fees.
Sarvey said he noticed another issue with last year’s budget. Money earmarked for the general fund was being used in the enterprise fund, which is a major part of the city’s proprietary fund.
Sarvey said the problem appeared to be related to city employees working in several different departments. He said some employee salaries are entirely paid for by the general fund, even if the employee spends time working with the sewer and water departments. Sarvey said part of the employee’s salary should come out of the enterprise fund. The interim city manager said the discrepancies total over $800,000 and he isn’t sure where the money went.
Sarvey said most city employee salaries are divided among the appropriate departments. He said Public Works Director Cody Dill is paid from both the general fund and the enterprise fund. Twenty percent comes from the general fund, while the water and sewer departments contribute 40% each to the remaining 80%.
Sarvey said the city’s enterprise fund is not capable of covering the $800,000 deficit.
Sarvey said his goal is to balance the budget heading into 2024. To make that a reality, Sarvey said the city will need to either find extra money or cut services.
Rawlins Public Information Officer Mira Miller said city staff members are working on a plan to address the deficit. The next budget meeting will be held during the second week of May. Miller said staff will present their ideas at that time. Last Tuesday’s budget workshop was a place to begin the discussion and inform the council of where the city stands, financially.
