One of the problems Starbuck faced last year, affecting the amount of money coming into the city which was budgeted for, is a large list of delinquent taxes or taxes which went unpaid through the year, something Bitzan said is a problem facing many cities in the state.

"It's kind of the way it has been going in a lot of cities," she said.

In some cities across the state, Bitzan estimated the amount of taxes deemed delinquent has tripled. For the 2007 year, the property taxes budgeted was $262,500 while the city took in just $197,523 in taxes leaving the city $64,977 short of its budgeted amount according to the audit.

The cash fund balance went from $154,941 at the beginning of the 2007 year and ended the year with a -$12,431 balance.

The cash fund balance was just one of 10 funds with a negative balance at the end of the year, the largest of which was the new community center, which opened last summer. Bitzan encouraged the council to address the issue of negative funds as it moves forward in the 2008 session to bring them back into the black.

"It's really important as a council you determine how the city will move forward and cover those balances," said Bitzan.

In addition to addressing the funds in negative balance, Bitzan also told the council to watch the amount of call time and overtime and stick close to the budget. However, in some departments overtime is acquired when calls for assistance come in or in emergencies and short of hiring another employee may be difficult to address.

In other areas of the audit

Hobo Park not only finished in the black in 2007, but made up for a negative balance in 2006 finishing the year with a positive fund balance. Hobo Park took in $200,069 in receipts and after paying all of its disbursements and covering its -$3,661 balance coming into the year, finished with a balance $17,969. The sewer fund still finished in the red, but took just under 1/3 of its negative balance from the beginning of the year off the books. According to the audit, after beginning the year with a -$35,648, the sewer fund took $11,868 off that amount to finish with a balance of -$23,780.

According to the audit, the water and storm sewer funds continue to be well in the black as the water fund gained $73,573 this year to finish 2007 with a net balance of $171,575. The storm sewer fund finished 2007 with a -$45,003, but when added to the beginning of the year balance finished the year with $168,546 in its fund.

This article can be read in full at www.starbucktimes.com