Minutes 11/28/1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MONDAY, NOV~4BER 28, 1988 only 4.26% in 1992-93 over current 1988-89, whereas General Fund expenditures can be expected to increase by 26.15%, the result of which forecasts a General Fund surplus deficit at June 30, 1993 of $13,516,783 as compared with an estimated surplus balance of $558,696 at June 30, 1989. Mr. Brown related the basis for his projections or estimates with the City's long standing practice, in the preparing of annual budgets, of being "liberal" when estimating expenditures but "conservative" when estimating revenues. In the ensuing discussion of the forecast or plan, Councilman Groden expressed a preference for other than a "worst scenario", such as the plan might suggest, whereas Mayor Oakes viewed it as a means of anticipating needs and conditions and enabling Council to consider them well in advance. At this point and, also, later in this meeting, City Manager Brown outlined his responsibilities, as he understands them, relating to the preparation of the City's annual budgets, as set forth in Section 2-36 of the City Code as to the General Fund. In addition, Mr. Brown emphasized the role of the City's utility (Enterprise) funds as well as his recommendation that transfers from the Water and Sewer Funds to the General Fund be discontinued and transfers from the Electric Fund to the General Fund be diminished, unless rate adjustments are made in sufficient amounts to support such transfers. Reference was then made to the City of Danville's electric utility system (its rates, its power supply sources, and its rate of return), with the request that City Manager Brown prepare a comparison of the Danville system (or of the electric system owned and operated by the City of Salem, Virginia) with Martinsville's system for Council's information.