The city of Ketchum is in great financial shape, with more money in its budget than anticipated, clean books and a good staff, according to an outside auditor.
"It's exciting to be able to say that," said Twin Falls-based Certified Public Accountant Dennis Brown, who recently completed an audit of the city's books. "Not all cities have that."
Brown, who has audited Ketchum for 25 years, presented an overview of his findings to the City Council Monday, Dec. 5.
The city's assets exceeded its liabilities during fiscal year 2004-2005 by more than $19 million.
The fiscal year ran from Oct. 1, 2004, to Sept. 30, 2005.
Of the $7,960,265 available in the general fund budget, $7,842,473 was spent.
"The city had received more money than budgeted for ... as a result of economic growth and other factors," Brown said Thursday. The reverse of that, he said, was that the city allocated a certain amount to spend, but used less than planned.
"That gave way to a very positive year," Brown said. "The city was able to bolster reserves a little bit, stay on track with the budget and earmark other (funds) for capital improvements."
Operating departments covered by the general fund saved taxpayers $117,792 by "prudent management" of financial resources, the audit states.
Additionally, the utility funds continue to be healthy, "but not overly so," he said.
General funds are used for essential city services such as fire and police protection, and ongoing maintenance such as roads and building services.
"Those are driven by three things: taxes, fees and grants or money from the state," Brown said.
Budgets for so-called "enterprise funds," such as Ketchum's water and wastewater funds, are based on anticipated funds.
"It's much more difficult," Brown said. "It's driven by user fees, and who knows what those will be."
Brown added that the city's local option tax continues to provide residents opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
"As much as it gets a lot of scrutiny and (some people) are down on it, it's a tremendous opportunity to provide additional dollars to supplement the basic tax structure ... and allows the city to move in a good direction," Brown said. "It allows us to continue to supplement basic services. There's no way (Ketchum Area Rapid Transit) could be afforded."
Local option taxes improved over the previous year, he found. The general fund received $2,074,969, of which $141,242 was transferred into the city's capital improvement fund.
