Baldwin ends FY2012 in the black

The City of Baldwin finished FY2012 in the black in its General Fund and has seemingly recovered from its financial crash in 2008-2009.

Beth Grimes, Bates, Carter & Co. LLP, Gainesville, said, “I know I’ve been sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to present this.”

“I can tell you one thing; I thought when I started this audit this year that ya’ll had robbed the bank, when I looked at your cash account compared to what I’m accustomed to seeing,” Grimes said.

Baldwin took in $1.7 million in FY2012 and spent $1.56 million. The town’s General Fund cash balance has climbed back to $350,000, which is within the range of recommended reserves for a town its size. One reason the reserves have climbed back to that level is due to the fact the city’s water department forgave a debt of loaning money to the General Fund back during more difficult times. That debt of $160,000 was technically forgiven in the FY2012 audit.

Most of the town’s income came from taxes and service charges. The bulk of its spending went to public safety, public works and general government spending.

In the town’s utility fund, the city had a net loss of $167,800. However, on a cash basis that excludes depreciation, the city had a positive cash flow.

Grimes said, “If any of you are familiar with Duck Dynasty (TV show); I am happy, happy, happy with this audit.”
Grimes encouraged the mayor and council, due to a lot of turnover among its staff, to ensure that areas of concern are addressed and understood by all employees to prevent errors in the future.

“We don’t want to let anything fall through the cracks, which happened a couple of years ago with water and sewer billing,” Grimes said.