By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
At its regular Council meeting on Monday evening, Shelby City Council heard an update on city finances that contained some generally good news.
Finance and Personnel Committee Chairperson Garland John Gates shared a financial report that included a general review of fund balances. Gates said that year to date income tax income is actually up over 2019, and that the City’s General Fund is in basically “good shape.”
With one-third of the year completed at the end of April, overall City income stood at approximately 33%, while expenses were at 28.9%.
Gas tax revenue has been off about 15-20%, which is similar to the decrease in other north central Ohio cities. That said, Finance Director Brian Crum told Council that the most recent gas tax receipt was at or its near normal.
One area of concern was raised by Utilities and Streets Committee Chairperson Nathan Martin. Water and sewer balances are down substantially, Martin said.
With the water fund, a contributing factor among others is a substantial decrease in consumption. From January through April of 2019, Shelby water customers used 15.5 million gallons of water; this year, that volume was down to 12.4 million.
While additional details will be discussed at the next Committee meeting, one area that is being looked at is a possible adjustment to the PCA, an adjustment charge currently billed to some, but not all, customers.
Lastly, Martin referenced the “HEROES Act” recently passed by the US House of Representatives, which would prohibit utility shutoffs until a certain amount of time after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure would also impact the City’s ability to engage in collection efforts.
