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Century Looks For $100K To Balance Budget, Considers Cuts
September 7, 2018
The Century Town Council held their final budget workshop of the year Thursday afternoon, aiming to find $100,000 to balance their annual budget for the next fiscal year.
The town’s gas department can’t account of 58 percent of the natural gas it purchases for resale, and those gas department losses left the council maneuvering for savings.
The town has allocated an immediate $100,000 this budget year to purchase new gas meters for residential and commercial customers and about $4,000 for a new “gate station” meter to measure the quantity of gas purchased to verify the amount billed by their supplier.
The new gas meters are expected to increase revenue substantially due to improved accuracy.
At a previous meeting, the town council decided to leave their estimated gas fund revenue at $400,000 in next fiscal year ’s budget, based upon current income levels in order to easily see increased revenues. Accountant Robert Hudson instead Thursday recommending raising that income projection to $500,000.
“You are still going to see it (any revenue increase),” Hudson said. “We raised it to balance the budget.”
“But you’re still just making up a number,” Council President Ann Brooks said. “I think it is disguising the fact that we need to cut (expenses) somewhere.”
“One we get them in the ground, we should start seeing a change almost immediately,” Mayor Henry Hawkins said of the new meters and additional revenue. He said most of the current gas meters are about 26 years old.
Town Clerk Kim Godwin, who previously served as gas superintendent, said the meters were damaged and accuracy dropped several years ago when automatic reporting devices were added to them.
The town will also remove old meters from longtime inactive addresses, work to improve billing accuracy and conduct a self-audit of accounts to make sure residents are being properly billed.
“If you have been getting gas or water for free, it’s about to end,” council member Luis Gomez said.
Rather than increasing the projected gas department revenue by $100,000, the council increased it by $50,000 and began to look for other ways to save the money and balance the budget.
After discussions that including cutting back on the employer health insurance contribution, dropping an annual Independence Day Fireworks Show and slashing donations to non-profits, community service organizations and local school groups, the council instead turned their focus to other line items.
They decided to delay the purchase of a $15,000 side-by-side vehicle for the gas department and postpone employee merit raises for a $30,000 savings. Employees will still receive a cost of living increase.
And the council upped anticipated revenue for acting as a second signature on bond issues by the Capital Trust Agency by $75,000 in final budget balancing maneuver.
The first of two public hearings to consider the fiscal year 2018-2019 budget will be held Monday at 5:01 p.m. A regular council meeting will follow at 7 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
18 Responses to “Century Looks For $100K To Balance Budget, Considers Cuts”
Alright “new to Century” stop asking questions that imply guilt if you don’t know what you are talking about.
Yes, they have an independent audit done every year and it is public record. If you really care about the truth instead of disparaging someone’s name you will go look it up yourself. I have a feeling you won’t.
Do have internet there in Century, Google and ability to type in a term such as. CALIBRATION.?
Why not test a few of the old meters to see if that is the problem before spending a bunch of money you don’t have?
You’re going to buy fireworks and give away money you don’t have instead of giving the people that actually keep this town running?! Who has to install all those meters, set up new records and billing? Who will be doing the work to make all this income?? Really?? How about collecting on those loans….
Better late than never but if we knew gas meter accuracy dropped years ago and people have been getting free gas why did we wait until the bottom falls out to fix it?
If Ms. Brooks wasn’t there to question the accountant about fudging the numbers would the other council members know to question him?
Just wondering . ……..
I may be really off base here for these suggestions but I am going to throw them out there anyway.
1) Why not get the meter that makes sure what the gas vendor is billing the Town of Century is what the Town is really getting. For some reason $4000.00 seems to be a better first step than spending $100,000.00 for all new meters. If this is the problem then the problem is fixed and the Town of Century has only spent $4K. Also, if this is the problem the Town may have some recourse with the vendor.
2) Is Mr. Hudson an accountant or a bookkeeper? If he is an accountant he must follow the rules and regulations for that profession. One of which is an annual Independent audit for Municipalities that are their clients. I am sort of new to Century and this is the first I have heard regarding an audit of any kind much less one with as many red flags as Century’s has been this year. If Mr. Hudson is the Town’s bookkeeper, are was paying two people to do this kind of work? Not sure what the Town Clerk does other than record minutes for meetings.
3) I remember when the gas and water meters were converted to auto read. My water bill the first month was $13,000.00 and I was told that the Town was now billing for all the water that had been used at my address that had not been billed for. Hope that is not what happens if it is found that the gas meters need to be changed out. I was able to explain that I had only lived in the house for a few months and I was NOT going to pay for the past owners’ of the property unbilled water usage. If the Town has known since then that the meters were not functioning properly, why is it only being talked about now? I think having someone go to every house in Century and check the gas meter for whatever the new meters would fix and only replace the broken ones also may save the Town of Century several thousands dollars.
4) I am not sure how much education or experience employees need to do their job but I do know that jacking them around with their wages is cruel. The Town may need to get rid of the dead wood so the healthy parts can thrive. If six people can do the job of ten then raise the wages of the six and get rid of the four…..common sense.
Just some thoughts.
Century needs to control its gas
What did Warren Everett come up with this year? Did TOC and accountant turn in the reports on time?
agreed @Dig Deeper
if TOC had Hudson in the past and he he let them get in this position why is he still there?
Watching the Florida Auditor general Website and the Joint legislative auditing committee report.
Are the Mayor and Council members watching also?
what happened with the State Attorney looking into Century?
“They decided to delay the purchase of a $15,000 side-by-side vehicle for the gas department” Just what Century needs, when they are broke, is a toy to drive around.
Alright, I don’t think bad mouthing the accountant is going to help. The Town of Century is run by its Mayor and Council members, who are ultimately responsible for its financial position. They make the final decisions on their revenue and expenses. Maybe some of the council members, mayor and employees do not have the education or the experience to hold their positions. I don’t think there is only one person to blame.
If at any point an employee, mayor or council member knew there was a problem with the meters it should have been addressed at that moment, not years later. This seems like a problem with internal communication.
Come on folks, of course Hudson is going to try to paint the best picture possible. The last thing he wants is for the Town Council to finally get SMART (looks like it will never happen) and fire him for NOT doing his job. They could make a big dent in their budget woes if they would cut HUDSON’s fees out of the budget.
How can they justify keeping him on as a bookkeeper much less actually listen to ANY advice he gives!?!?!?
A laughingstock.
Gas and water for free? Who? Why?
I wish my checkbook would work like this; Just make up numbers, or move made up money where I want to too make it look balanced. But dang, the bank will not go along with it. These people are trying to do high finance like the federal government, but they don’t have a printing press to print money the money to back it up with.
So the town clerk has known there is a problem with the gas department for years? Why no action previous to the report’s finding? That’s just another tick in the box for poor council/mayor management.
“After discussions that including cutting back on the employer health insurance contribution, dropping an annual Independence Day Fireworks Show and slashing donations to non-profits, community service organizations and local school groups, the council instead turned their focus to other line items.” >>>>> Seems to me that if they don’t have money to cover their expenses, maybe they should stop donating and spending it on fireworks. If I don’t pay my bills, I don’t have money to give away, soooooo… what makes them any different????
cut the budget, give raises, can’t manage the gas dept which should be a gold mine and is losing money. i just don’t get it.
I’m all for donating money and time, but you only do that when your ahead of the game, not when your failing and loosing money. I think the only money going out should be money it takes to support the city, and include giving the workers their raises. It’s very difficult for an employee to swallow not getting a raise then see extra money given away. We ask these employees to come to work on time and have them follow policy and rules but without a promised raise. While the people in charge mismanaged money and now asking for the employees to do without while they continue to make donations and have fireworks and stand back and say look at what we donated, when in fact it’s the employees doing without which made the donations possible.