Goodrich-Following a two year dip in both taxable values and state funds, the village coffers grew following an audit presented by Lewis & Knopf at Monday night’s council meeting.
Key indicators of the overall health of village finances included an additional $50,998 to the general fund, which as of June 30 has grown to $278,894 according to the audit. The expenditures totaled $529,189.
‘Our fund equity right now is about 50 percent of our yearly budget,? said Jakki Sidge, village administrator. ‘Still it’s a double-edged sword. We collect taxes to help Goodrich and the money we save goes toward projects in the community, often a match for a grant. We sometimes save money for years to do a project’we don’t collect taxes just to leave it in the bank. We have several big projects coming up including the Dutch Road bridge and Erie Street. We can’t sit here with millions in the bank’but we need a cushion with the economy the way it is going.?
Sidge said that during the fiscal years 2008-2009 the village collected $377,377 in taxes. In 2009-2010 that amount declined to $342,254. Similarly, state revenues declined from $92,019 in 2008-2009 to $84,231 in 2009-2010. Taxable values dipped from $70.8 million in 2007-2008 to $55.7 million in 2010-2011.
‘It’s going to take a while for those values to come back up.We are utilizing the village taxes we do have,? she said. ‘You still need to be secure at 50 percent. It puts the village in a comfortable position.?