City looks at 2012 financials

Yorkton Council approved the audited Financial Statement for 2012 at its regular meeting Monday.

Revenues were $84,181 more than budgeted. Collectively departmental operations reduced the surplus by ($250,206) and capital costs ($181,762) for a net surplus for 2012 of $15,737.

Total Revenues of all operations excluding capital grants are some $35 million. Total available for debt capital and reserves is some $8 million but when excluding utility operations and debt payments, capital allocations are less than $3 million per year.

"ParkerQuine LLP has audited the financial position of the City of Yorkton as at December 31, 2012 and they confirm that these financial statements present fairly all material respects of the City's financial position and the results of its operations and changes for the year ended," detailed material circulated to Council Monday.

Lonnie Kaal, Director of Finance with the City, said the 2012 audited statements include some new data.

"2012 statements include capital assets, historical cost, amortization and net book values. The City has assets worth some $200 million based on historic cost. The replacement cost of these assets would be significantly higher, and are part of the asset management model that will be used for future planning and budgeting purposes," she explained in the circulated material.

"For accounting purposes, assets need to be valued based on cost (as this needs to be consistent over time. The cost of an asset cannot change annually just because the replacement cost changes).

"A Capital Works Schedule has been added to the financial statements. This shows the capital grant revenue and all capital expenditures, principal debt payments and transfer to reserves, by function. The reason for adding this schedule is because with the new reporting requirements, capital, principal payments and transfers to reserves are not an expense, so it looks like a surplus is created, when in reality, this surplus is used to fund these expenditures."

Kaal said the City will need to deal with what she termed "infrastructure deficit" moving forward.

"We'll need more dollars to mature assets that a lot of the time was put in the ground in the 1960s," she said.

At the same time the City faces financial needs from aging infrastructure, Kaal said because of the current economic boom there is "pressure to create new assets for growth."