City and Borough of Juneau ends FY13 with more cash in reserves

Juneau City Hall
Juneau City Hall sign. File photo.

The Juneau Assembly will have some flexibility when it comes to spending money during the current fiscal year and setting a budget for the next two years.

The city and borough ended Fiscal Year 2013 with about $9.5 million in fund balance. That’s $1.2 million more than projected.

CBJ Finance Director Bob Bartholomew says city departments have been holding down costs, while taking in more revenue.

“Their operating expenditures were about a million dollars lower than what had been projected,” Bartholomew said. “And then the revenues that they collect directly for services, permits and fees came in about $440,000 higher than we projected.”

Bartholomew says that helped offset some other revenue sources that came in lower than expected last fiscal year. Property and sales tax mostly hit their projections, so did state and federal revenue. But interest income from investments was about $653,000 below what was expected.

But overall, Bartholomew says the financial picture is good for Juneau.

“We have a strong financial position and this just solidifies it,” he said. “So that as we move into FY14, the additional funds just give some flexibility to the Assembly.”

Bartholomew updated the Assembly Finance Committee with the latest numbers Wednesday night.

The city has a biennial budget, so FY14 spending was set in 2012 and revised this spring before the new fiscal year started in July. The Assembly will begin crafting the FY15 and FY16 budgets early next year. Bartholomew says reviewing the actual numbers from last fiscal year is the first step in that process.

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