By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The city of Zeeland expected to dip into its reserves during the 2024-25 fiscal year.
However, a recently-completed audit of the city’s books for the 12 months ending June 30 showed the city ended the fiscal year with a surplus in its general fund, the portion of the budget most directly impacted by property taxes.
The city ended the fiscal year with a general fund surplus of $386,340, compared to a $657,120 deficit that had been projected when the city passed the 2024-25 budget. That increases the city’s general fund savings to $6,591,244, Assistant City Manager Kevin Plockmeyer said.
Factoring in all city funds, including streets, water and sewer, the city had expected to dip into its reserves by more than $7.2 million during the fiscal year. But according to the audit, the city’s total governmental fund balance was reduced by only $826,932 to $20,328,679, Plockmeyer said.
“Overall, it was a fantastic year,” Plockmeyer said.
Will Wright of the Grand Rapids-based public accounting firm Brickley DeLong PC presented the audit report to the City Council Monday night.
The city took in more than $2.48 million in governmental fund revenue above what had been budgeted, to $14,370,978. The primary funding infusion came in the form of a personal property tax reimbursement of $1,724,740.
“We no longer collect taxes on personal property. Prior to the phaseout of (personal property taxes), it accounted for about 40 percent of our revenue,” Plockmeyer said. “So, the state of Michigan put in a reimbursement mechanism.”
“We can’t budget for (the reimbursement) because it’s unknown whether we’re even going to receive it,” Plockmeyer added.
The city has typically used the personal property tax reimbursement funds to pay for major capital projects. Past use of funds has included the snowmelt project on Main Avenue and work on the Felch Street cemetery. It’s also been used to shore up the city’s pension fund, Plockmeyer said.
The city also received more than $1.1 million in interest revenue, both realized and unrealized, Plockmeyer said.
The city’s total governmental spending for the fiscal year was $15,197,910, a figure $3,921,964 less than what it had budgeted. The major reason for the reduced spending was that the city spent considerably less on capital projects than budgeted - $4,739,789 compared to the budgeted amount of $7,456,448.
The major difference in the capital project spending was because of the city’s decision to switch the reconstruction projects on Taft and Church streets, moving Taft up to the 24-25 fiscal year. That switch resulted in a spending reduction of $2,391,940, Plockmeyer said.
The city also spent nearly $412,000 less than budgeted on wages, with a combination of factors leading to that reduction – including a less-than-expected impact of hiring a second full-time firefighter, vacancies in the city clerk’s office, the retirement of a longtime Finance Department employee, staffing changes in the Police Department and actual paid on-call firefighter hours being less than budgeted, Plockmeyer said.
Zeeland Record
The city of Zeeland expected to dip into its reserves during the 2024-25 fiscal year.
However, a recently-completed audit of the city’s books for the 12 months ending June 30 showed the city ended the fiscal year with a surplus in its general fund, the portion of the budget most directly impacted by property taxes.
The city ended the fiscal year with a general fund surplus of $386,340, compared to a $657,120 deficit that had been projected when the city passed the 2024-25 budget. That increases the city’s general fund savings to $6,591,244, Assistant City Manager Kevin Plockmeyer said.
Factoring in all city funds, including streets, water and sewer, the city had expected to dip into its reserves by more than $7.2 million during the fiscal year. But according to the audit, the city’s total governmental fund balance was reduced by only $826,932 to $20,328,679, Plockmeyer said.
“Overall, it was a fantastic year,” Plockmeyer said.
Will Wright of the Grand Rapids-based public accounting firm Brickley DeLong PC presented the audit report to the City Council Monday night.
The city took in more than $2.48 million in governmental fund revenue above what had been budgeted, to $14,370,978. The primary funding infusion came in the form of a personal property tax reimbursement of $1,724,740.
“We no longer collect taxes on personal property. Prior to the phaseout of (personal property taxes), it accounted for about 40 percent of our revenue,” Plockmeyer said. “So, the state of Michigan put in a reimbursement mechanism.”
“We can’t budget for (the reimbursement) because it’s unknown whether we’re even going to receive it,” Plockmeyer added.
The city has typically used the personal property tax reimbursement funds to pay for major capital projects. Past use of funds has included the snowmelt project on Main Avenue and work on the Felch Street cemetery. It’s also been used to shore up the city’s pension fund, Plockmeyer said.
The city also received more than $1.1 million in interest revenue, both realized and unrealized, Plockmeyer said.
The city’s total governmental spending for the fiscal year was $15,197,910, a figure $3,921,964 less than what it had budgeted. The major reason for the reduced spending was that the city spent considerably less on capital projects than budgeted - $4,739,789 compared to the budgeted amount of $7,456,448.
The major difference in the capital project spending was because of the city’s decision to switch the reconstruction projects on Taft and Church streets, moving Taft up to the 24-25 fiscal year. That switch resulted in a spending reduction of $2,391,940, Plockmeyer said.
The city also spent nearly $412,000 less than budgeted on wages, with a combination of factors leading to that reduction – including a less-than-expected impact of hiring a second full-time firefighter, vacancies in the city clerk’s office, the retirement of a longtime Finance Department employee, staffing changes in the Police Department and actual paid on-call firefighter hours being less than budgeted, Plockmeyer said.
