Posted on February 2, 2017.
By Bill Short
Millington Finance Director John Trusty told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen recently that everything in the city looks “really good financially” at this point. At the board members’ Jan. 9 meeting, Trusty said he had given them copies of the 2016 fiscal year Audit Reports prepared by Watkins Uiberall for the entire city and by Dixon Hughes Goodman for the municipal school system. They were also given copies of the Dec. 31, 2016 interim financial statements. Trusty noted that a partner at Watkins Uiberall will officially present its report at the board’s Feb. 13 meeting. “We wanted to give it to you in advance,” he told the board members, “so you would have time to look at it and be familiar with it when the auditor comes to present it next month.” Trusty noted that the city’s General Fund is approximately $110,000 “ahead” of where it was last year. “At this time of the year,” he acknowledged, “the revenues are less than the expenditures. But because of the cycle on the way revenues are collected in government, that’s very normal.” Trusty also said that, last year, the city added $582,000 to its fund balance. And if it continues to operate like that, he anticipates that it will also be able to “add back” some fund balance this year. While noting that the Capital Improvements Fund is also in “good shape,” Trusty said the city still has almost $1.5 million of its bond issue that it has not drawn from to pay for capital items. “We have all the things that we’ve already done,” he said. “So, we’ve got financing available for the things we have to do.” Because the city is working with the Tennessee Municipal League Bond Pool to “issue debt” for the school system, Trusty said there will be a resolution on the agenda for the Feb. 13 meeting. He also noted that he has been working with Bruce Rasmussen, supervisor of Financial Services for the school system, regarding the exact amount it will need. “It’s anticipated that they will actually need less than what we put in here,” he said. “We’ll be working out the specifics of that and bringing that back at the February meeting as well.” If Millington moves forward with its current planning, Trusty anticipates that it will have money for the school system by the end of this month. And he said Rasmussen does not believe it will be needed until March or April. At this point, Trusty said, everything in the city looks “really good” financially. “That’s not to say that we’ve got extra money,” he cautioned. “But it’s to say that we are managing within our means.” Trusty acknowledged that Millington has “a lot of challenges” as it continues to consider its Capital Improvements Plan and maintenance of the city’s infrastructure. But he said it has a plan to deal with those things.
“I think you’ve seen that in the paving and other things going on in the city, as well as the development we’re seeing,” he concluded. “So, I think they’re all very positive notes.”
