Cd'A general fund weathers pandemic year

While Coeur d’Alene — like the residents it serves — had a relatively rough financial year in 2020, an independent auditor declared the city’s books are in order.

“The primary purpose is just to assure you that your financial statements your Financial Department provides to you are materially correct,” Toni Hackwith, co-owner and managing member for Anderson Bros., told the city in her report.

The Post Falls-based accounting firm conducted the annual audit as required by Idaho law.

An evaluation of this year’s statements noted 2020’s general fund balance carries with it $48.6 million in revenue and $45.5 million in expenditures. This represents a $10 million leap in revenue compared to 2019, and about $5 million more in expenditures.

“Much of this relates to the coronavirus issues and increased funding for public safety programs,” Hackwith said.

City Administrator Troy Tymesen said the fact that the health of the fund balance improved during a year of unprecedented financial constraints is something the city should be proud of.

“This is really quite an accomplishment in the past year,” he said. “The fund balance grew. We had forecasted $1 million coming out of fund balance to operate that year. The Finance Department, Stephanie Padilla, Toni overseeing this work, and the team at the city of Coeur d’Alene — during a pandemic — kept and grew your fund balance. We were extremely conservative in a really tough year, and it shows up right here.”

The trials of the past year did take a toll on the city’s ability to weather additional challenges, but nothing city officials said couldn’t be overcome.

The Government Finance Officers Association recommends cities keep a general fund with an unassigned balance to cover at least 60 days of revenue and expenditures, just in case. Coeur d’Alene has consistently kept a healthy surplus in reserve, but that surplus dipped.

Available days of revenue in unassigned fund balance dropped from 87 days in 2019 to 69 days in 2020 — still in the healthy range.

Operating expenditures in unassigned fund balance fell last year, as well, though not as steeply, dropping from 81 days in 2019 to 74 days in 2020.

One of the city’s proprietary funds saw some growth last year, while another saw a bit of a slide. Operating revenue for the wastewater fund rose by 5 percent, increasing by roughly $528,000 in 2020, while operating expenses increased by approximately $603,000, or 7 percent.

But that disparity is offset by revenues in the wastewater fund far exceeding expenditures. Wastewater took in more than $2.3 million more in revenue than it pumped out last year.

The water fund had a slightly different fate in 2020. Operating revenue for the Water Department actually decreased by $85,000, or 1 percent, in 2020, while expenses increased by almost $350,000, or 5 percent. Tymesen noted that the water projects the city put in place last year and this year were factored into those declining numbers.

“Really, it’s the depreciation factor that came into it,” Tymesen said. “We have a new building up there. This was a really monumental year for us, and that non-cash side of it definitely helps that enterprise fund, versus the cash side.”

Tymesen said he's encouraged about the prospects for the health of the water fund, as evidenced by a number found on a different balance sheet.

“There is zero debt in the water fund,” Tymesen said. “There’s not one dollar owed, and when we’re putting in wells … The plan is, we put in the capital, we have a source from which to gain revenue, and pay it back over time. If we went backward, we’d be financing that to spread the cost of the rate payers over the next 20 years, but we’re paying all of that with cash.”

The audit is available online at Coeur d’Alene’s website: cdaid.org