By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac's auditor said Monday night the city is "holding its own," with an "adequate" 20-percent general fund balance – a $700,000 reserve in the $3.5 million annual budget.
The city has downsized its operation from 77 fulltime employees in 1996 to 73 today.
The general fund absorbed a state revenue sharing decrease of $25,000.
"If the city had just kept up with inflation in terms of the money it gets from the state," Ken Berthiaume of Saginaw said, "you'd be getting $200,000 to $300,000 more per year. The city has a challenge to replace that revenue. In the last 10 years, even though the millage rates have not increased, tax revenues are up about 9 percent."
Health insurance costs "continue to be a challenge," the auditor noted. "It has risen from $374 per family to $1,277" over the last decade. "That represents quite a big increase in total dollars – $341,000 to $900,000," Berthiaume said. "Effective Oct. 1, 2006, the city implemented a self-insurance program for some of the health care. We hope that will bring down some of those increases."
Asset increases of $469,000 were noted in governmental fund activities, while in business-type activities a decrease in net assets of $307,000 was recorded.
Business-type activities include the electric fund, water, sewer and Dial-A-Ride transit.
"Last year there were major expenditures in the sewer fund and in the electric fund for repairs and maintenance," Berthiaume said. "That accounted for the decrease in assets, and I don't think we're going to see that happening again."
"The funds basically are very healthy, with adequate fund balances. We had no negative fund balances in any of the funds," he said.