If the municipality’s estimates are correct, Mapleton Township will have to spend $4.8-million per year just to maintain its current infrastructure assets.
That was the message Matthew Venne, of RLB Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, brought to council last week.
Venne, whose firm annually serves as the township’s independent financial auditor, stressed that figure does not include any additions, such as paving gravel roads or replacing bridges or other infrastructure.
Those would be over and above the $4.8-million figure (the township spent $3.4-million on infrastructure in this year’s budget).
That was but once interesting revelation made during last week’s review by Venne of the township’s financial statements for the year 2010.
Another was that Mapleton was the second of ten municipalities Venne deals with to complete its financial statements, which he said speaks to “the quality of your team [in Mapleton].”
One of the more startling figures included in the financial statements appears to be a 2010 deficit of almost $1.73-million.
But Venne said that figure is very misleading and is more the result of changes to accounting practices in recent years than of any actual cost overruns.
“You were as close to breaking even as you could possibly be,” Venne told council, calling the deficit figure “hogwash.”
The financial statements show the municipality’s net financial assets are valued at over $1.9-million (up 4% over the year-end 2009 figure) and it has an accumulated surplus of almost $45.5-million.
Plus, Venne explained, a large portion of the over $6.3-million in expenses under “transportation services” is attributed to depreciation of those assets.
He stressed the financial statements have been prepared on a “cash basis” and are not based on principles of accrual accounting, which measures the performance and position of a municipality by recognizing economic events regardless of when cash transactions occur.
In general, Venne said the township is in good financial shape.
Council unanimously approved the financial statements.
