by JEN BIUNDO
Buda got a clean bill of health Tuesday night in the annual audit of the city’s financial reports for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
Auditors with the firm Darilek, Butler and Associates, PLLC told city leaders that the most recent financial statements were a significant improvement from the year prior, when staff changes led to messy books and 14 deficiencies in internal controls.
This year’s audit found four deficiencies, mostly minor.
“The prior audit was a nightmare,” said councilmember Sandra Tenorio. “The staff did an outstanding job to be able to get us from that disaster of Fiscal Year 2009 to here.”
Including infrastructure such as roads and buildings, Buda’s total net assets were just shy of $75 million, a decrease of $1.7 million from the year prior.
The city finished out the year with a general fund balance of $1.65 million, down about $640,000 from the year prior. About $1 million of that cash was unreserved, or not locked into a specific use. Cities typically try to maintain about three months of operating costs in the unreserved general fund balance, a target that Buda came close to hitting this year.
In the general fund, the city took in $3.66 million in revenue, about $145,000 less than originally budgeted, and spent $4.25 million, or $265,000 more than originally budgeted.
The nationwide recession didn’t take a toll on the city’s incoming cash flow. Following declining home appraisals, property tax revenue dropped about $155,000 from 2009, coming in at $1.3 million, close to the originally budgeted number. Meanwhile, sales tax contributes $1.7 million in revenue, an increase of about $200,000 from the year prior, but still almost $400,000 short of the number originally budgeted.
In recent years, sales tax accounted for about half of Buda’s revenue, causing some city leaders to worry that tighter recession-spending by consumers could hit the city hard. Sales tax now makes up just 34 percent of the city’s $3.2 million in revenue, with property tax amounting to 25 percent and fees and charges, largely from wastewater services, adding another 17 percent. Wastewater sales yielded about $772,000 in excess cash.
Total liabilities, primarily made up of long-term debt used to finance capital projects, rose by about $3 million and clocked in at $23.2 million, or $3,176 for each of the city’s residents. The city spent $868,000 in debt repayment last year.
