Баланс резервного фонда Винчестера снизился до 17% из-за расходов на 5,9 млн долларов

WINCHESTER - Although the town continues to have plenty of Free Cash in its reserve account, the number is shrinking. According to a memo from Town Comptroller Stacie Ward regarding the end of FY26, she said while the number “exceeds the current operating reserve policy target of 10 percent (minimum of six percent)… it has been declining.” She said the decrease from last year, from 18 percent to 17 percent, is due primarily to the revenue growth and the relatively flat reserve balance. Typically, the combination of excess revenue and spending turn backs outweigh the amount of Free Cash spent, but not this time as the town used $5.9M in Free Cash and returned only $5.7M in excess revenue and turn backs. Overall, when it comes to revenue for FY26, Ward called the results for local receipts good across all categories “as expected.” She said due to higher than anticipated new growth and state revenue, the town lowered the local receipt estimates to balance the budget when preparing the tax recap. Ward said in the memo that the Department of Revenue Division of Local Services does not allow for estimates to exceed actuals unless there is a justifiable reason, such as a fee increase or something more concrete. The comptroller also pointed out how investment earnings again exceeded projections, this time totaling $1.5M. That helped contribute to the nearly $1M revenue surplus. She called it similar to last year where market conditions and overall cash on hand resulted in a similarly favorable outcome. Strong miscellaneous non-recurring revenue includes energy incentives/rebates/tax credits from Eversource related to the Lynch School ($429,000) and from the state and US Treasury related to vehicle purchases ($23,500). On the expenditure side, Ward said turn backs totaled $2.2M. She said they were generated primarily due to staff turnover, retirements and other vacancies. She noted how police, fire and the DPW brought in the largest amount in turn backs. In the police department, the chief said they had three patrol openings and one sergeant opening for half of FY26. In January, the department filled those positions. In the fire department, the chief said they had four unfilled positions due to retirements. New hires in FY26 filled those positions. In the DPW, the department left many positions open due to a hiring freeze. One was for a full year, two were vacant for about 75 percent of the year and another was just filled in June. Ward said turnover in the custodian positions also helped account for a good portion of the savings. When it comes to Free Cash, Ward said Town Meeting appropriated 9.3 percent in FY24, 31.8 percent in FY25 and 29.9 percent in FY26. Town Meeting used approximately $3.5M in FY26 on the FY27 budget, which included $200,000 to fund strategic maintenance. In the town’s two enterprise funds, water & sewer saw a $1.2M surplus and $118,000 in turn backs. The retained earnings of $2.687M will be reviewed and certified by the DOR in early September. This balance as a percentage of total revenues and transfers in is 17 percent, which Ward said is five percent higher than last year due to rate and consumption increases. On the recreation side, the department saw a revenue surplus of $117,000 with $380,000 in turn backs. That leaves $1.267M in retained earnings that DOR will also certify in September. This means the balance, as a percentage of total revenues and transfers in, comes to 47 percent, or one percent more than last year. In her memo, Ward said the Recreation Department’s revenue estimate for FY27 of $2.8M exceeds the FY26 actuals of $2.5M. This means, unless the town can justify the increase, it cannot estimate revenues higher than what it collected in the previous fiscal year. Therefore, town management and the recreation director will propose fall Town Meeting reduce revenue estimates for FY27 and close the budget gap with retained earnings. Ward also noted in her memo how the Community Preservation Act fund “achieved strong results,” closing with a $212,000 revenue surplus and $12,000 in turn backs. While Ward said the DOR doesn’t certify the $763,000 undesignated fund balance of this fund, there are various statutory reporting requirements that she will be working on with the CPA Administrator (next week) and up through the tax recap preparation process.