By Nancy Huddleston, Editor

The city’s third quarter financial reports mirrored the downturn in the economy, but Financial Manager Shelly Kolling told the Savage City Council Monday night (Nov. 2) that the city should end the year on target.

Kolling noted general fund revenues are 28 percent below the expected benchmark for the third quarter, but that’s because the city has only received the first half of its tax payment from the county.

“I ran through revenues as of today because I was presenting this third quarter report tonight and we projected revenues at $12.3 million,” she said. “As of today, I am projecting revenue to come in just over $12 million, so I do think we’ll come in a bit under original projections, but we won’t be too far off.”

In terms of expenditures, Kolling reported the projections are 10.9 percent below projections. That is due to the rigorous effort by city staff to hold expenses down, Kolling pointed out.

“Managers and staff at the city continue to practice even more conscientious habits in addition to implementing some of the cost-savings ideas. The majority of departments and divisions that are extremely below or above the benchmark simply reflect the ‘seasonal’ nature of the work,” she said.

Councilwoman Jane Victorey inquired about revenues from building permits and engineering projects.

Kolling reported that revenue from engineering projects is expected to be down, but revenue from building permits is expected to be up due to a slight uptick in townhome permits in the last few months.

In terms of the city’s third quarter investment report, Kolling reported the market value for the portfolio is $34,668,518 which is $2,039,433 higher than in 2008. However, year to date, investments have earned $1,204,180 which is 0.3 percent lower than the same period last year.