Half-way through its fiscal year, the Town of Banff is predicting a surplus of $81,000 in its operating budget.
Senior accountant Chris Hughes outlined the financial details to council on Monday (Aug. 19), noting it is a significant shift from a deficit position forecast after the first quarter this year.
“We identified a combination of increased revenues and decreased expenses in order to identify this $81,000 surplus,” Hughes said, adding a large portion can be attributed to savings in wages and benefits.
The 2014 budget had a target of $130,000 savings in wages and benefits, but to date there has been a savings of $241,015.
Within each department, variances of more than $10,000 are identified in the report, which is available on the Town’s website. There is an additional $17,000 forecast in general government as a result of additional permits for special events and films as well as an additional $43,000 from ATCO Gas franchise fees and $20,000 from Fortis franchise fees.
Timing of cash flow and capital project payments resulted in a decreased interest revenue forecast of $20,000 and short-term interest charges increased by $21,000 for longer than anticipated negative cash flow prior to tax revenue being received.
Hughes said as a result of increased enforcement on parking and traffic fines, the budget now forecasts an additional $70,000 in revenues, while contracted services for paid parking increased the budget expenses by $45,000 and revenues from paid parking are predicted to be $92,000.
Hughes said because council has not identified how that revenue is to be allocated, it is offset by an increase in transfer to capital reserves.
RCMP services also resulted in changes to the forecast with decreased expenses of $58,000 due to restructuring of RCMP administration and vacancies, while expenses increased by $122,000 based on the final 2013 officer count and revised estimates for 2014.
