Notwithstanding a newspaper headline and story to the contrary, the Branson Board of Aldermen did not change the fiscal year of the city of Branson to Nov. 3 at its Sep. 22 meeting. Frank Schoneboom, Branson’s Assistant City Administrator said, “Branson’s fiscal year today is the same as it was before the meeting on Monday night, Oct. 1 to Sep. 30.” He said all the board did was pass a resolution authorizing the continuation of necessary and essential expenditures to operate the city through Nov. 3.
Prior to the resolution authorizing the continuation of the necessary and essential expenditures of the budget to operate the city through Nov. 3, a public hearing was held on the city’s budget for fiscal year October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. The public hearing was opened by Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley. No member of the public came forward to make comments and the hearing was closed. Mayor Presley said there would be another public hearing on the budget at the boards Oct. 28 meeting.
The written staff report introducing the resolution states, “City and State Statutes allow for the continuation of the budget into the following year for good and sufficient reasons. On September 16th the Board of Aldermen and the Branson Finance Committee acknowledged that good and sufficient reasons exist to allow a continuation because of the City Governments financial status.”
At the Sep. 16 meeting, Branson City Administrator Dean Kruithof said a system breakdown had occurred. He described the system breakdown as, among other things, a lack of effective contract management, no reconciliation to budget, no project accounting, and that the city has an obsolete financial system. He stressed the city of Branson, although a very small city in terms of size and permanent residents actually has to operate on the same financial level as most large cities yet, the resources of its finance department, both in terms of personnel and systems, are not adequate to do the job.
At the Sep. 22 meeting, as part of his comments on the continuing budget resolution, Kruithof said the continuing resolution was necessary so that the budget process could be completed. He said they were in the process of working through the second round of budget discussions with the city’s Directors and were looking very hard at expenditures. He also pointed out that the additional time would be used to work on a number of items with the city’s Budget and Capital Committees and the city’s financial consultants in an effort to bring the board a balanced budget. He said, “This gives us some additional time based on the information we know.”
Although there were comments from the public they related to comments made by Alderwoman Sandra William in the period between the public hearing on the budget and not to the continuing budget resolution. There were no comments from the board and the resolution passed unanimously.
The resolution re-appropriates operation and maintenance expenses from the 2007-2008 fiscal budget from Oct.1 2007 through Nov. 3, 2008. The resolution specifically states “That in the 2007-2008 fiscal year the City of Branson experienced a breakdown of its financial system along with revenue shortfalls and increases in operating costs.” It went on to say that for these reasons and others the board deemed it necessary to allow additional time for the development of the 2008-2009 fiscal budget.
Furnished Courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.
