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The Danville Town Council is set to hear a financial report comparing and contrasting the town’s projected financial needs in the current operating budget and capital improvement program with the actual expenses facing the town as part of a midyear budget review Tuesday evening.
Finance director Lani Ha prepared the presentation for the council’s upcoming regular meeting, during which councilmembers are set to hear about the town’s financial state and consider budget adjustments recommended by Ha and other town staff.
The current operating budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year was approved by the council last June, making it the first operating budget since to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in which the town is not operating for the entire fiscal year under a state of local emergency – a second of which was passed due to last year’s winter storms and ended locally on Dec. 3.
“The purpose of the mid-year update is to review actual mid-year revenues and expenditures in comparison to the adopted budget and CIP and make any necessary mid-year adjustments,” Ha wrote in a staff report for the upcoming meeting.
Ha noted in the staff report that the town has been on the path to economic recovery thanks to factors such as high property value and tax revenues, despite a drop in revenue from local sales tax. The town also benefited from federal funding under the CARES and American Rescue Plan acts, garnering approximately $13 million under the pandemic era recovery efforts.
One change Ha is recommending in the staff report is an increase in lighting and landscape assessment fees for the first time in more than two decades, with revenue from the increase set to be used for maintenance of parks, town facilities, roadsides and street lighting if approved by the council.
“Having emerged from the pandemic and recovered from the winter 2022-23 storms, new fiscal challenges continue to be presented,” Ha wrote.
Ha pointed to factors such as inflation, interest rates, stock market volatility, and geopolitical instability and uncertainty brought on by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as challenges with the U.S. border and uncertainty about the outcome of this year’s presidential election, as well as ongoing unpredictable and sever weather locally and throughout the country.
“For the Town, these trends and factors are expected to impact availability and costs for utilities, materials and supplies, contracted services and personnel, at levels that could outpace forecasted revenue growth and budgeted costs,” Ha wrote.
Nonetheless, Ha noted that the town’s financial outlook is relatively on track at the current point in the fiscal year.
“At mid-year, total revenues are positive to the budget forecast and total expenditures are within budget,” Ha wrote. “Overall fiscal condition remains strong, with the fiscal year expected to end positive to budget forecasts.”
So far, total revenues for the town are forecast at $40.2 million, up 4.5% from the $38.5 million forecast in the previous fiscal year. Property tax revenue is expected to be higher than the forecast for the current fiscal year according to Ha’s report, with expenses on track to be within the operating budget approved last summer.
“The Town’s overall fiscal condition remains strong, and the Town expects to finish the fiscal year on a positive note,” Ha wrote.
Other funding sources including sales tax, property transfer tax, franchise and recreation fees, and donations are projected to meet or exceed forecasts for the current fiscal year.
With the overall budget on track at the mid-year point, Ha and town staff are recommending one major adjustment to the donations category accounted for in the operating budget in order to reflect a $10,000 donation that was received for expansion of the town’s police department.
The Danville Town Council is set to meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 20). The agenda is available here.
In other business
* The council is set to issue proclamations recognizing ongoing Lunar New Year celebrations and recognizing February as American Heart Month.
* Councilmembers are set to receive a report from Bicycle Advisory Commission Chair Bruce Bilodeu.
* Town Manager Joe Calabrigo is set to provide a monthly report.
