Brandon Twp.- Long-term strategic budget planning the township board began in 2010 is starting to pay off.
Pfeffer, Hanniford and Palka, CPA, recently completed their audit of the township’s 2011 financial statements. During the board’s June 4 meeting, Ken Palka presented results of the audit to the board, which found that as of Dec. 31, 2011, the township had $1.6 million in revenue and $1.4 million in expenditures. The fund balance grew $262,573, from $172,293 in 2010 to $434,866 as of Dec. 31, 2011.
‘You are up past the $400,000 mark in the fund balance for the first time since 2006, so good job, guys,? said Palka to the board.
Adding the $434,866 to the roughly $244,000 in the rainy day general fund gives the township nearly $700,000, or 54 percent fund balance. The state recommends between 15-25 percent.
Township Supervisor Kathy Thurman said the board had a 14 percent fund balance in 2009, their low point. The follow-ing year, the board conducted a series of budget workshops and strategic planning sessions for a multiple-year budget.
‘We did a good job controlling our spending and we’ve been making continuous cuts over the last two years,? Thurman noted.
Additionally, the township received more constitutional sales tax from the state than anticipated, which she construes as a good economic indicator, with consumers spending more.
The police fund balance, separate from the general fund, also increased $134,000 in 2011. The recreation fund had a loss of about $8,000, while the combined loss at the end of 2011 for all four fire department funds was roughly $144,000 at the end of 2011, but $1.8 million remained in the fund balance.