Wrangell Borough Assembly held a workshop last Tuesday, Dec. 8 to review the city's current financial status. That evening's presentation, according to Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen, was primarily focused on Wrangell's major revenues through November, year-to-date. They will be covering expenses in a future workshop.
"This is a snapshot, it's certainly not everything, but as it says here it's some of the major ones." she said.
The presentation started with looking at revenues under the city's general fund. Most of the revenues under this fund are doing well, or are on track for where they should be, according to Von Bargen's presentation. Property tax revenues are at 100 percent. The city has brought in $1.894 million from property taxes year-to-date, with $1.889 million budgeted for FY 2021. The marijuana tax is also 321 percent up. The city has made $17,678 from this tax, but only budgeted for $5,500. One source of revenue that is not doing well, Von Bargen pointed out, is DMV services. Revenue from this service has only been $6,495 YTD.
"We're at 7 percent," she said. "We budgeted to take in $95,000 and with the closure this year, and with the staff turnover that we've had, and the lack of ability for our folks to be trained to do what needs to be done, we have seen a significant reduction. There's likely no way we're going to make that up before the end of the fiscal year."
Another area where revenues are down are in the Nolan Center. The city's movie theater, museum, and community center has seen a sharp decline in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic and precautionary closures. For example, movie admissions are only at 1 percent of budgeted revenue, $390 versus $35,000. Museum admissions have only brought in another $372 of a budgeted $20,000 YTD as well, according to the presentation. The highest sources of revenue for the Nolan Center have been merchandise sales and the theater's concession stand, bringing in $5,139 and $4,331 respectively.
"We have slashed that budget to the absolute maximum degree possible," Von Bargen said. "It's abysmal, at best. We are very hopeful that we will be able to make up some ground next year, if we see somewhat of a cruise season in the early part of the summer next year, prior to the end of the fiscal year."
Another area covered in the meeting was the borough's electric fund. There is currently a fund balance of about $1.66 million, according to Von Bargen's presentation, minus 40 percent working capital. The fuel surcharge for this fund has brought in $67,860, over a budgeted $45,000. YTD numbers for other revenue streams, such as residential kilowatt-hour sales and small and large commercial kilowatt-hour sales, have brought in 31-35 percent of their budgeted revenues so far. Revenues for the electric fund are doing alright, Von Bargen said, but she wanted the assembly to keep in mind future expenses.
"We have major projects coming in the electric department that the fund will need to be used for," she said. "We have a major either renovation or demolition and rebuild of the powerhouse. We have a Case Avenue rebuild that needs to take place, and there is significant discussion about going to a new metering system, because the one that we have is becoming obsolete. Those things together are probably in the neighborhood, easily, of about $10 million ... The other thing I want to mention for the listening public is that SEAPA has announced that they are going to need to do a wholesale rate increase, which will mean the cost of power will go up here. So in addition to SEAPA doing a rate increase, given the capital pressures that I just talked about from the city's side of things, we may also need to do a small rate increase."
Other revenue areas reviewed in the workshop included those under the Secure Rural Schools fund, the water fund, the sewer fund, and the harbor fund, among others.
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