City officials say the current year spending plan remains ingood shape although carryover funds will be needed to cover a$174,000 budget revision approved last week by the board ofaldermen.

Revised budget totals showed the city with $526,727 inadditional revenue for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, but also$700,984 in additional expenditures for the year. The difference is$174,257.

“We’ll have that much money that we’ll bring forward to make thebudget balance,” said City Clerk Iris Rudman.

Originally, the city had forecast to have around $625,000 inremaining fund balance at the end of this year. The budget revisionwill reduce that total to $451,000.

“It’s a real good budget revision,” Rudman said. “It’s one wecan live with and stay within.”

Rudman credited department heads with doing a good job of tryingto stay within the budget. She said the city has never been in abad financial position, although she did cite the importance ofstaying within the budget.

“You do not want to continue to use carryover funds,” Rudmansaid.

The revision boosts the general fund budget from the $7.7million budget approved last September to $8.45 million. Therevision covers budget changes made throughout the firstthree-quarters of the fiscal year.

In a number of cases, additional expenditures were offset byadditional revenue. Two examples were an industrial park accessroad and First and Second Street overlay projects, for which thecity received over $333,000 in grant and federal assistance.

Other larger sources of added revenue include court fines, taxloss reimbursement from the state and bank interest on cityfunds.

Regarding the interest, Rudman said the city tries to maintain acash flow of around $800,000. She also mentioned close to $1million in Wal-Mart funds that is treated as a reserve account.Board of aldermen authority is need to spend the Wal-Martmoney.

“We treat it like it’s not even there,” Rudman said.

The largest revised revenue decrease was $14,000 in reducedanticipated sales tax collections. Rudman said budgeted sales taxprojections were close and the $14,000 would be less than a 1percent difference.

“It’s not going to make that much difference,” Rudman said.

Three percent employee pay raises, approved after the start ofthe fiscal year after unexpected revenue came in, had some effectsin several departments. Other noted expenditures included newcomputers in the city clerk’s office, engineering fees on some cityprojects, three new police cars and higher oil and gas costs.

“Our oil and gas went up in just about every department,” Rudmansaid.

Rudman said some expenditures are unforeseen and that is thereason for trying to maintain the $800,000 in cash flow.

In other separate budget areas, the solid waste fund was revisedto show $4,200 less in anticipated revenue and $34,812 less inanticipated expenditures. The decrease in expenditures wasattributed to personnel and other services.

Rudman said solid waste remains in difficult position.

“We’re just treading water,” she said.

Rudman said revenue cannot be controlled, but city officialshave some input in overseeing expenditures. She reported some goodresults in that area this year.

“They have held down expenses,” Rudman said. “We have not boughtany new equipment and have held down repairs.”

As with the general fund, carryover revenue will be needed inthe water and sewer budget. The budget revision shows $18,475 inless revenue and $105,1985 in additional expenditures, for a totalof $123,670.

“We’re not in the hole, but we’ll have to use some of ourcarryover funds to make the budget balance,” Rudman said.

Rudman mentioned an emergency water department computerpurchase, a water well repair and expenses related to the FieldLark Lane sewer line project that accounted for about 75 percent ofthe added expenditures this year.

The water and sewer fund is an enterprise fund, Rudman said,which means fees paid by users must cover expenses. She did not seeany problems in that continuing to happen.

“There no money problem. It will pay for itself,” said Rudman,although adding that water and sewer revenue would be watchedclosely in the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.