BRUCEDALE – The 2022 financial statement audit for Guelph/Eramosa Township, conducted by Murray Short and Michelle Steele, was presented to council on June 19.
The financial statement received a “clean audit opinion,” Short said.
The process went smoothly and “no significant internal control deficiencies” were identified, he noted.
The township’s financial assets at the end of 2022 were $18,820,991, up from $17,726,222 in 2021.
These assets include $14,631,515 in cash and cash equivalents, $157,768 due from developers, $2,331,773 in accounts receivable, and $1,699,975 in taxes receivable.
The taxes receivable are up slightly from $1,664,757 in 2021, which Short noted puts the township in a “very strong” position compared with other municipalities.
“Of all the taxes that you collect in a year for your own purposes as well as on behalf of the county and school boards – only about five per cent of that remains receivable at the end of the year,” he said.
“And the average around the municipalities is about 7.3%, so really strong position from that standpoint – well down below what the ministry would consider to be low risk.”
Short noted anything under 10% is considered low risk.
“What we are seeing across most of our municipal clients is that for whatever reason in 2022 taxes receivable have crept up as much as 18 or 20 or 25%, so the fact that yours are basically flat is commendable,” Short added.
End-of-year liabilities were at $11,861,047, up from $11,001,054 in 2021.
Short said this amount of debt “is below average for other municipalities,” noting “Guelph/Eramosa has used debt reasonably from our standpoint to finance some of its capital purchases over the year.”
This brings the net financial assets at the end of 2022 to $6,959,944, up slightly from $6,725,168 in 2021.
The township’s revenues in 2022 totalled $17,437,863, up more than 15% from revenues in 2021, and almost 12% over budget.
Steele said this growth is due to increased taxation, higher user charges, and the provincial grant for updates to Rockmosa Park.
Expenses were also up from last year, by about $700,000 or 5%, totalling $15,025,938. This is almost $400,000 over budget.
The annual surplus for 2022 was significantly over budget, at $2,411,925 compared to the budgeted $989,414 and last year’s $840,844.
This brings the township’s accumulated surplus at the end of 2022 to $110,650,661.
