The Wadesboro Town Council voted Monday to close out three grant and project funds from the N.C. Rural Center, adding more than $20,000 to the town’s water and sewer fund.
Interim Town Manager Ray Allen told council members in an email that the Rural Center had already closed the projects in its records.
The Capacity Building Grant Fund, which was for a sewer study, had a remaining balance of $2,100. The first of the two project funds, to address disinfection byproducts in treated water, had $16,103 left over, while the White Store Road Water Project fund held a balance of $2,602.
While heavier than normal rainfall this winter has increased the town’s wastewater bill from Anson County — up to $83,882 in February from a previous monthly average of $49,000 — Allen said the town’s finances are still in good shape.
The revenues for the water and sewer fund, most of which come from monthly water and sewer bills paid by town customers, are higher than the expenses of paying the county for potable water and wastewater treatment and maintaining the town’s distribution and collection systems, he said.
Likewise, the town’s general fund is fiscally healthy. While February’s revenues are down $250,000 from the previous year, expenses are also down by $257,000.
The Council also approved a measure, proposed at the Feb. 24 budget retreat to update the town’s budgeting and analytics software.
Southern Software, a budgeting and analytics software, was proposed at the budget retreat Feb. 24, and received a unanimous approval at Monday’s meeting.
Allen said that it is an enhanced program from Southern Software, the same company that provides the town’s current financial software.
“This is intended to streamline the budget process and use less staff time in constructing the annual budget, as well as provide more reporting to the staff and Town Council,” Allen said. “With this software the town department heads will be able to input their annual budget requests directly into the budget system, which they have not been able to do in prior budget years.”