City ends year in black

While the city of Tucumcari’s general fund ended the year with a deficit of about $575,000, the city as a whole managed, with revenues of nearly $12.7 million, to finish the fiscal year that ended June 30 with a positive balance of $1,236,331, the Tucumcari City Commission learned Thursday during a special meeting.

The good news about the general fund’s budget deficit is it is more than $200,000 less than the $775,519 deficit with which the city started fiscal year 2019, which began July 1, 2018, and ended June 30, the commission learned.

City finance director Rachelle Arias explained general-fund budget deficits are common at the beginning of a fiscal year but generally are covered by revenues, such as gross-receipts taxes, not anticipated in the budgeting process.

Commissioners viewed the reduced beginning deficit and the positive balances in the overall budget as encouraging.

The commission then voted to submit final adjustments for June to complete reporting of actual financial results to finish the 2019 fiscal year to the New Mexico Department of Financial Administration.

The vote was unanimous among the four commissioners who attended Thursday’s meeting. District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya did not attend.

That submission will clear the way for the city to meet the July 30 deadline for submitting its final budget to the agency, Arias said.

City Manager Britt Lusk told the commission that city department managers have been conscientious in tracking their spending over the past year, and that budgeting last year began with consultation with department heads to determine their needs for the year.

The city is hoping to recover from an unfavorable audit report for 2017 that was submitted in 2018. The New Mexico Office of the State Auditors office gave the city a "disclaimer" rating, indicating incomplete records.

The city’s 2018 audit is under review by state auditor’s office, according the office’s website.