The city of Greensburg is projected to operate in the red this year, by about $1 million, according to a financial consultant — but a city official said she expects the city to operate in the black because it will spend less than budgeted.
According to Reedy Financial Group, the city of Greensburg this year is expected to spend about $8.1 million on its operations, including police and fire protection, local streets and capital improvements.
That’s about $1 million more than the city expects to generate in revenues this year. Reedy discussed the report with the Greensburg City Council Monday evening. The city is weighing whether to contract with the consultant to help the city improve its fiscal situation.
According to the report, the primary culprit for this year’s deficit spending is projected overspending of Economic Development Income Tax money: The city plans to spend about 1.1 million of its Economic Development Income Tax revenues, though that tax this year is projected to generate only about $408,000.
However, City Clerk-Treasurer Bridgett Weber said Reedy’s projection assumes that the city will spend all of the EDIT money it is budgeted to spend, which, she said, will not happen.
Weber said the city’s budget includes spending $400,000 of EDIT funds on road repair, which the mayor and city council will not approve or even propose. Through the first half of the year, the city has spent less than $200,000 of its EDIT revenues, Weber said. And though the city is projected to use some EDIT funds this year to pay part of its $280,000 match on the $1.4 million Vandalia Road project, Weber said EDIT spending for the full year likely will be below EDIT revenues.
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