THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603170064
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
For the first time in years, Suffolk has a little money in the bank for unexpected expenses and small construction projects that once forced it to borrow.
No longer must the city stop working on utility projects, as it has in the past, for lack of money.
And city officials are encouraged that they might be able to consistently finish work the same year they allocate money for it.
Suffolk's financial turnabout is the result of desires raised 14 months ago by the City Council, on the day the city manager, Myles E. Standish, reported for work.
At the top of the list of expectations was making the finances more secure.
Council members said they wanted him to develop an easier budget process that the council and residents could understand.
The council also said it wanted Standish to limit the city's debt and to increase the money in cash reserves.
They asked him to find ways to fund some utility projects without borrowing. And they demanded that projects be completed within their funding year.
The council was candid with Standish because, they said, they had found it almost impossible to keep track of city finances in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Funds were constantly being transferred from one department to the next, they said, and they had no clear way of knowing how much money was being spent from year to year.
``Money was being taken from one area and given to another,'' Councilman Thomas G. Underwood recalled. ``It was confusing and very difficult to monitor. Things moved and shuffled around constantly. It was not only hard for citizens to follow but for some of us as well.''
Every time a project popped up, the city had to borrow, council members said. And capital improvement projects were always funded by whatever was left over after the city passed its operating budget.
Since Standish has come on board, council members say, it's easier for residents to understand where city money is going and why there's not enough to fund everything. And city finances are in much better shape.
``It's their (residents') money, and they have a right to know,'' said Mayor S. Chris Jones. ``It makes it easier for them to understand what our choices are and what we're trying to accomplish. If they're not pleased with our choices, then they can see where the money is being spent and then let us know.''
Councilman Richard R. Harris agreed.
``I've been impressed by the way we identified what we could afford, up front,'' Harris said. ``We know from there how much we can devote to projects, and that puts us in a better position for the operating budget.''
Six months ago, the city hired a new finance director, M. Christine Ledford. Ledford has been working with consultants, Wheat First Butcher Singer, for suggestions on how to improve the city's finances.
Suffolk is borrowing money less frequently and now has nearly $10 million in its fund balance.
This year, city officials have decided to pass the capital improvements budget first. Whatever's left, Ledford said, will be what the city will have in its operating budget to run city departments.
The city will also have a head start on paperwork, she added. That will increase the chance of completing the work during the same year - a problem that residents waiting on sewer and water have complained about for years.
Ledford and the consultants have also asked that the city borrow money for utility projects every two years instead of annually.
The two-year schedule, Ledford and Standish said, helps the city improve the interest rate it must pay - an indicator of its creditworthiness - and gives the council and citizens an early warning about how much money the city can afford to spend.
Standish said city officials are trying to give the council the accountability it asked him for.
``Intelligent planning,'' Standish said, ``looking beyond the near horizon at what costs and revenues may be in the city's future, . . . and making sure procedures are being done by the book, has helped.''
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK CITY BUDGET by CNB