WATERBURY ENDS FISCAL YEAR WITH NEARLY $4 MILLION SURPLUS

WATERBURY, Conn. – Fiscal prudence by City department heads combined with an Oversight Committee that monitored municipal spending on a weekly basis enabled the City of Waterbury to end the 2014-2015 fiscal year with a nearly $4 million surplus, Mayor Neil M. O’Leary said Wednesday Oct. 1.

The City closed the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015 with a surplus of $3,922,581. Mayor O’Leary said this was achieved when revenues exceeded the budgeted amount by $1,342,679 and the City spent $2,579,902 less than what was appropriated.

“I want to thank our department heads for monitoring nearly every dollar their departments spent and our Tax Collection Department for revenues that exceeded our expectations,” O’Leary said. “I also want to thank members of our Cost Containment and Oversight Committee.”

This committee, appointed by Mayor O’Leary, meets on a weekly basis to review personnel requisitions, the tax collection rate and overtime expenditures in the Police and Fire Departments. The committee also meets with department heads to discuss requests for purchases, programs and services and their potential impact on the budget.

“Achieving this surplus was a true team effort,” Mayor O’Leary said. “It starts with the hard work of our Budget and Finance Departments and continues with every department head who monitors his or her department’s spending – always with taxpayers in mind.”

Of the $2.5 million that was generated by spending less than was appropriated, $1.4 million in savings came from general government departments while the remaining $1.1 million came from the Education Department.

Of the $3.9 million surplus, $1 million is earmarked for education, $2 million for various capital and other projects and $750,000 to a benefit reserve fund. The Board of Aldermen will be asked to approve these transfers.