Winder City Council votes for no transfers from water enterprise fund for FY 23
At last Wednesday’s meeting of the Winder City Council, the decision was made to make no transfers from the City’s Water and Sewer enterprise fund for the close of Fiscal Year 2023.
This comes at a time when, according to Councilwoman Kobi Kilgore, making a transfer of any amount would not support the Council’s goals of the last three years.
In most recent Fiscal Years, Council has elected to transfer fund from the Water and Sewer Fund to the City's General Fund to support operating general services of the City.
The City's water system started in the early 1900's and provides water to over two-thirds of Barrow County. The City operates the Water and Sewer Fund as a business, or enterprise: residents pay monthly rates for their consumption and usage.
Since Fiscal Year 2021, reducing the amount of the support from the Water and Sewer Fund have been on the Council's agenda as a priority item. Reduction or elimination of transfers would continue strengthening the City's financial position and show residents their commitment to stewardship of resources.
Kilgore said, “So it needs to be something that you really wholeheartedly think about. The goals that we set when we started what we wanted to accomplish and, in my opinion, we’re there… I personally think and, this is just my opinion, it would be a slap in the face to say let’s do a transfer when this is what we wanted to begin with is not to transfer.”
Councilman Travis Singley added, “I mean, that was a goal that we’ve had for the last three years is [to eliminate] the dependency of the transfers from water and sewer.”
Council was reminded that this vote was in reference to closing the FY 23 financial books, which would put the funds in reserves.
Amending the original motion, Singley made the motion that the transfer be zero.
Singley explained, “This just demonstrates the financial position the City is in, it also demonstrates the hard work our staff has done, it also demonstrated the goals that we’ve set—we’ve achieved. I mean, to not be able to transfer anything from water and sewer that shows our constituents we’re in probably the best financial position the City has ever seen, and if we run into a situation, we need to transfer something all it takes is us coming in here and voting. But for that to happen, that’s slim to none.”
This approval marks a historic moment for Winder's Council professionally and financially, as it is the first-time in the last several years that the Water and Sewer Fund has not been used to support the City's General Fund.
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