Lynne Hermansen
Gardner News

Edgerton’s finances are on track for 2023, according to its recently released first quarter report.

“It is hard to believe we are past the first quarter,” Karen Kindle, finance director, said.

Kindle presented the expenditures and revenues for the city’s general, water and sewer funds from the first quarter during the Edgerton City Council’s May 11 meeting.

Kindle said the city normally receives half of its property tax distribution in the spring, noting that was where the funds currently sat. Motor vehicle property taxes, she said, come at different distribution times, but they were also where they have been previously.

Kindle said the liquor and local sales taxes were ahead, with the local use taxes doing well at this point in the year, but with a hitch.

“That is also a tax that is kind of unpredictable,” she said. “We are doing well right now, but could cool off for a bit so I will take the good right now, for sure.”

Kindle said license and permit revenue sources depend on what type of building permit activity the city has had. The city has had three sizable permits contributing to almost 100 percent of the fund.

“It is definitely starting to become building season,” she said.

Kindle said fines and forfeitures were a court activity.

“That kind of just depends on what types of cases come through, and what kind of tickets are involved with those,” she said.

Kindle said investment income had been busy, and the city was starting to see the benefits.

On the expenditures side, Kindle said expenses for the city’s general fund were where they needed to be this time of year, she said. Law enforcement was paid on a quarterly basis, and officials had not received a bill.

Eighteen percent of the general fund’s 2023 budget was used in the first quarter leaving a little more than $3.8 million for the remainder of the year.

Kindle said the water fund revenues were where the city expected them to be at this time of year.

“It is also seeing the benefit of improved interest rates,” she said.

Kindle said the debt service was at 50 percent because the city made its first loan payment of the year. The water fund’s ending first quarter balance was $352,480.

Kindle said sewer service charges were lower than they were at the end of last year.

“We purchased Gardner’s interest in our plant,” she said. “They are no longer setting flow, so we weren’t exactly sure what effect that would have, so that’s part of it. The other part is generally our commercial customers have higher bills on state and begin using more water during the watering season.”

Kindle said the city had made one of two bond payments to the sewer fund debt service.

The sewer fund, she noted, had $625,874 remaining for the year.