Audit: Pawtucket ended FY ’14 with $4.8M surplus

PAWTUCKET – The final audit for fiscal 2014 showed that the city ended the year with a $4.8 million surplus, and that the School Department had an operational surplus of more than $500,000, according to the mayor’s office.

A news release said that the city’s revenue was $2.7 million higher than budgeted, mostly due to greater than anticipated prior year tax collections, and increased rescue service revenue, partially due to the implementation of the city’s third rescue.

“We have worked to implement best practices and be more aggressive in pursuing delinquent taxpayers and we are seeing the results,” Mayor Donald R. Grebien said in a statement. “These practices have helped position the city so that we have not had to raise taxes two years in a row.”

The city’s expenditures also were $1.7 million under budget.

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“As we work to improve services to our residents every day, we continue to watch our bottom line closely. Through the hard work of our employees and sound management, we came in under budget again last year,” Grebien said.
The city had budgeted a surplus of $400,000.

The city’s “rainy day fund” has approximately $10.7 million.

“We continue to rebuild our previously-depleted reserves, and remain focused on improving our overall financial position and bond rating,” he said.

The audit also showed that the combination of the School Department fiscal 2014 operating surplus and the city’s early payment this year toward a lingering school deficit payment plan from fiscal 2010 resulted in the first overall positive fund balance for the School Department since fiscal 2005.

“We have come a long way since the city was on the brink of bankruptcy four short years ago, but we still have a long way to go. We will continue to work to improve our city’s finances and bond rating, while balancing the impact on our taxpayers. I am heartened by the progress we have made and excited about the road ahead,” Grebien said.

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