City Ending the Fiscal Year in Good Financial Shape

At the City Council meeting on June 21, 2022, City Manager Steven Buck had good news for the Council and the people of Sanford. The City is ending the fiscal year in a very strong position, due to the combination of savings on the appropriation side and higher-than-expected revenues.

Some line items in the current year’s appropriation went over budget. The most significant of these is the overtime line for the Sanford Regional Communications Center, due to its being understaffed. New positions were approved in the 22/23 budget, so that situation is expected to change in the coming year. General assistance, legal services and insurance line items are also over budget. But these overages in some areas are more than offset by big savings in other line items, most notably due to the inability to fill budgeted positions in the DPW and Planning Departments. The Parks and Recreation budget is also significantly in the black due to the decrease in programming during the pandemic. In total, appropriations are coming in at around $500,000 under budget.

On the revenue side, State Revenue Sharing, ambulance fees and building permits have far exceeded projections. Several other revenue accounts, including park fees, solar leases, vacant building licenses and recycling are also coming in higher than anticipated. Mr. Buck expects total revenues to be about $750,000 over initial projections, making the total surplus about $1.25 million.

Final numbers will not be available until next month, but if things work out as he anticipates, Mr. Buck is recommending the City create a reserve account for heating fuel, propane, gasoline and diesel, as these line items are expected to be $236,000 over what was budgeted for next year, due to steep inflation. The remaining surplus will be returned to the general fund.

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