Greenport Village audit shows strong reserves, water and electric funds
Greenport’s general fund, water fund and electric funds are doing well, according to an audit of the village, but its sewer fund operated at a loss in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2015.
Auditor Bill Freitag of SaxBST, which the village hired to conduct its annual audit, said the general fund raised $240,000 more in revenue than the village budget anticipated and spent about $135,000 less than expected. The village had a $3 million overall fund balance, of which $1 million has not been earmarked for specific projects and can be transferred for other uses, Mr. Freitag said.
The village water fund generated income of $6,000 income during the last fiscal year, he said, and it currently has $660,000 in operating cash.
“You’re basically sitting on about 17 months of operating cash,” Mr. Freitag said.
The electric fund gained about $570,000 in net income in the last fiscal year from about $4 million in total revenue, Mr. Freitag said. Overall, that fund is sitting on about $700,000, he said, or about three months of operating cash.
The sewer fund recorded an operating loss of about $300,000 in the year ending May 31, 2015, according to the audit. The main reason was a depreciation expense of about $330,000 per year on the fund’s plant and infrastructure, he said.
Mr. Freitag said the general fund’s unrestricted fund balance has been “trending up.” He suggested that the village create a tax stabilization fund or an infrastructure replacement reserve to hold some of that surplus, because the state comptroller does not like to see municipalities with too much unspent money.
