He explained that Centerville started 2019 with a beginning reserve fund balance of $31.8 million and has a projected ending balance of $35.6 million. The city’s revenue will stand at $44.2 million this year, while expenses will come in at $40.4 million, he said.
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“Centerville voters supported an income tax increase in 2016, and the growth from that tax has continued to be strong,” Roark said. “In exchange, City Council is keeping its promise of maintaining and replacing roads. This year we embarked on our biggest resurfacing project yet, putting $5.4 million into 10 percent of Centerville’s lane miles.”
Roark said revenue for 2020 should reach $49.3 million with expenses of approximately $50.6 million, leaving Centerville with an ending balance of $34.2 million.
“The city continues to be in strong financial shape, thanks to years of conservative budgeting and strong revenue growth,” Roark said.
He noted the city will begin a five-year budgeting in conjunction with its Strategic Plan, “and leaning more on our new financial system, which will allow us to anticipate trends and make appropriate decisions,” Roark said.
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The city’s reserve fund has increased since 2015, when it had approximately $20 million.
For the projected 2020 budget, income tax revenue accounts for 85 percent ($20,250,865), an increase of 8% from 2019. Property tax (excluding TIF funds) is $1,665,000, up 9% from this year, while local government funding will add $380,000 and investment earnings $468,590.
Three other line items are also key economic factors for 2020: the increased Ohio gas/motor vehicle tax is expected to bring in $1,531,000; Yankee Trace is projected for $3,417,300 in revenue; and waste collection fees will generate $1,406,000.
City Manager Wayne Davis said since the passage of the income tax increase in 2016, the city has committed funding for capital improvements that have gone primarily for street resurfacing and concrete replacement programs.
“We have an outstanding budget,” he said, adding, “Thirty percent roughly of our roads and our infrastructure have been resurfaced. That’s unheard of and it doesn’t happen in many communities.”
Davis says Centerville has undertaken many initiatives aimed at improving financial management of the city’s resources in 2019, which include hiring Roark in January, and upgrading its financial Enterprise Resources Planning software from a 1992 DOS-based system to Tyler Technology’s Munis Platform.
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