BERLIN – While enterprise funds continue to be a cause for concern, the town’s latest audit shows Berlin’s general fund trending in the right direction.
On Monday, Michael Kleger and Leslie Michalik of PKS & Company presented the Town of Berlin’s fiscal year 2022 audit. Kleger said the town’s financial statements presented fairly and offered a clean, or unmodified, opinion.
“We did not identify any material weaknesses in internal controls,” he said.
Michalik provided the council with an overview of the town’s various funds.
For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the general fund balanced increased $1.7 million. As usual, the bulk of the town’s revenue – 57% – came from property taxes.
Most of the town’s expenditures, 37%, related to public safety, while 26% of expenditures related to general government and 15% related to public works.
General fund revenues totaled $7.7 million while general fund expenses totaled $6.2 million.
“General fund balance, it’s a key measure of the financial success of the town,” Michalik said.
She said the town’s unassigned fund balance, about $2.2 million, was available for emergencies and represented 4.3 months of operating expenses.
“Your fund balance is the highest it’s been over the last six years,” she said.
The town’s enterprise funds, however, continue to feature some losses. The electric fund’s revenues are down.
“I think it’s important to say we’re trending in the wrong direction,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said, adding that the town could be looking at a loss at the end of the current fiscal year.
He said that a rate study was being planned to get the utility back on track.
The town’s stormwater fund also continues to show a loss, though at $88,995 it was slightly less than the previous year’s $101,512 loss.
The sewer fund ended the year with operating income of $741,100, a positive change over the previous year, when it featured a loss of nearly $200,000.
Councilman Jay Knerr asked if the audit essentially showed that Berlin was on solid financial ground.
“The books and records of the town are in good order,” Michalik said.
Councilman Steve Green said the fact that the town’s general fund was the highest it had been in six years was worth noting.
He said the balance illustrated the healthier financial condition of the town.
“This council should be proud of that,” he said.
