BARRHEAD - The County of Barrhead's books got a clean bill of health.
That is what Brad Lussier of Greilach Lussier LLP told county councillors during their April 4 meeting.
Later in the meeting, councillors approved Lussier's 2022 audit report as presented and authorized its publication on the county's website.
He noted that from 2021 to 2022, the county's financial assets grew by about $1.4 million from $25,216,266 to $26,635,550.
Lussier noted that two accounts — taxes receivable and trade receivables — decreased, going from $1,068,721 and 1,406,313 to $743,751 and $1,077,050, respectively.
He noted it was good to see the taxes receivable decreasing.
"That means a lot of the oil and gas accounts are starting to come in during the year," he said.
Lussier added the numbers look even more healthy when the municipality's allowances accounts are factored in.
In recent years, the municipality has set aside funds that effectively act as a hedge against residents and or businesses who fail to pay their property or linear taxes. In 2021, the county planned for $600,000 in allowances and $100,000 for 2022.
"So we see a decrease of about 50 per cent, which shows that most (property tax) accounts are being caught up for the most part, which translates to an excellent financial position at the end of the year," he said.
Lussier noted the municipality also saw a sizeable increase in its investments, going from $2,039,575 to $3,578,354 from 2021 to 2022.
He noted the bulk of the increase was due to the $1.5 million the municipality is holding in trust for two years for the Camp Creek Community Club from the sale of its community hall.
On the liability side, the county saw a $2.8 million increase from 2021 to 2022, going from $12,029,538 to $14,852,641.
Lussier attributed that to two main factors: the aforementioned Camp Creek Community Club investment being a deposit liability and an increase to accounts receivable of about $675,000, due to the municipality's joint project with MCSnet to improve high-speed Internet connectivity.
After considering everything, Lussier said the municipality had net financial assets of $11,782,909 in 2022, down from $13,186,728 the previous year.
Total non-financial assets in 2022 were $54,828,932, with an accumulated surplus of $66,611,841, both of which were an increase over the previous year of $52,030,799 and $65,217,527.
On the revenue front, Lussier noted that the county took in $12,315,838 in revenue, which is slightly higher than what the municipality forecasted in the budget at $12,063,861.
The bulk of revenue came from municipal taxes at $9,123,852. Other major sources of revenue came from user fees and the sale of goods at $1,305,341, government transfers for operating at $1,113,484, investment on income at $455,914, penalties and other costs on taxes at $167,712.
On the expense side for 2022, the county came in significantly under budget at $13,268,951 compared to the $14,833,437 originally budgeted.
The reason, Lussier said, is because of the deferral of the installation of a sanitary pre-treatment component on the town’s lagoon wastewater system.
He also noted that administrative costs came in significantly under budget in 2022 at $1,029,053, a savings of more than $400,000 from what was budgeted.
The difference, Lussier said, was due to the increase of tax revenue from energy companies the county was able to collect rather than having to dip into its $600,000 accounts allowable fund.
The result, he said, is that for 2022, revenue exceeded expenses by $1,394,314.
Accumulated surpluses and debt limit
The county ended 2022 with a restricted surplus of $12,588,091, an unrestricted surplus of $2,534,487, and an accumulated surplus of $66,611,841, up from $65,217,527 the previous year.
Lussier also noted that the county is well within the allowable debt limit the province allows under the Municipal Government Act, explaining that the limit is set at 1.5 times municipal revenue. In the case of the County of Barrhead, its allowable limit is $18,473,757. Currently, the county is carrying $4,021,764 in debt for its share of the construction cost of the Barrhead Regional Aquatics Centre.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
