The city of McCall has a surplus of about $470,000 in its general fund because of increased revenue and savings during the 2003-04 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, City Manager Lindley Kirkpatrick said this week.
In the near future, the McCall City Council will discuss the surplus and whether to spend or save the money, Kirkpatrick said.
That discussion could come as early as the regular council meeting on Feb, 10 he said.
The city has a surplus when the balance of the general fund exceeds 40 percent of the fund's average operating expenses over the last three years.
That level was set by the council a few years ago to ensure that the city would have money saved to pay bills during a lag in property tax revenues that happens each winter.
This year, the average operating expenses over the last three years are about $750,000 and the balance of the general fund is about $1.5 million.
City staffers also subtracted some items that must be funded by the general fund's fund balance and were left with a surplus of about $470,000.
Two of the items subtracted from the fund balance to determine the surplus were a $100,000 sewer project in the Rio Vista neighborhood and $134,000 to remodel the former fire station near city hall to create office space and meeting rooms.
Conservative spending cited
The bottom line was helped this year by conservative spending by city departments as well as booming growth in McCall, which created higher revenue from building permit and development fees than expected, Kirkpatrick said.
The heads of all city departments were diligent in making sure that they met their budgets, contributing to the surplus, Kirkpatrick said.
Also, revenues from building permits and development fees doubled, and the extra funds were sent straight to the fund's balance, he said.
Changes in city staff and delays in filling positions in the police department also helped keep expenses below budgeted levels, Kirkpatrick said.
The council will have the final say on how the money is used. But in recent months, the council has talked at length about spending at least part of the surplus on a study that would determine whether the city can charge impact fees to developers.
Such fees could be used to fund infrastructure and amenities that will be needed as McCall grows.
Another target of surplus funds could be improvements to the city's ailing sewer system. Bottlenecks in the system have caused the city to stop assuring developers of new
projects that they will be able to connect to the sewer system for the last three months.
To alleviate the problem, the city could use surplus money to fix leaky sewer pipes, fund a master plan of facilities, or find a way that more treated sewage can be disposed on farmland near Lake Fork, where farmers take McCall's wastewater for irrigation.
