Alva Review-Courier -

City Business Manager Stephen Ford told the Alva City Council on Monday, Nov. 20, that work is progressing on the Locust Street water line project. The city obtained a REAP grant to pay for materials to move the aging water line from under the street to south in the right of way. Ford said the water department is doing the work, but they were waiting for some materials to arrive. Once the project is completed, the city will be able to work on resurfacing the street.

He said the LED lighting installation at the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse at the Alva Recreation Complex will provide some savings. The electricity cost is already $618 less than this time last year.

The street department has been trimming some trees along 12th and 13th streets. The Alva Regional Airport also cut down about a dozen trees. Ford said the wood is available for anyone who wants it.

The water meter installation is nearing completion, which will hopefully be by mid-December.

Survival Flight expects to begin operations at the Alva Regional Airport on Dec. 14. A special Alva Airport Commission meeting has been set for noon on Monday, Nov. 27, to consider the lease that was tabled at the regular meeting.

Ford said work on a new city website and app is moving along. They expect to go live in January. Asked about the cost, Ford said the first year including the training will be $12,000 with a cost of $6,000 per year after that. He said the website will be used to provide information from City Hall and the app will send out push notifications.

Financial Report

In the absence of Chairman Daniel Winter, Sadie Bier gave the finance committee report. As of Oct. 31, the cash balances for all City of Alva cash accounts were $3,885,369.55 and investments totaled $4,175,696.88. The city is continuing to place five percent of sales tax into a savings account to provide for a capital equipment account.

The cash account balances consist of $3,616,703.33 in pooled cash, $100,300 in pooled cash for AEDA ball fields, $163,984.91 in the savings account, $386,308.98 in the pool donation account, $2,651.99 in the ARPA cash account, $2,526.77 in the 522 EMS checking account and $389,963.36 in the airport checking account.

As of Oct. 31, the city had collected 32.77 percent of budgeted revenue and expended 30.82 percent of budgeted expenses for FY 2023-2024. With one-third of the year elapsed (July-October), revenue and expenses should be in the range of 33.33 percent.

• General Fund: As of Oct. 31, the General Fund has collected $2,416,543.43 or 32.45 percent of what is anticipated for the year. The city has expended $2,341,843.18 or 32 percent of budgeted expenditures.

• Alva Economic Development Authority (AEDA) Fund: As of Oct. 31, the AEDA Fund has collected $945,345.70, which is 15.90 percent of what is anticipated for FY 2023-2024. The city has expended $348,991.84 or 14.95 percent of budgeted expenditures.

• Alva Utility Authority (AUA) Fund: As of Oct. 31, the AUA has collected $3,356,019.37, which is 45.59 percent of what is anticipated for the budget year. The AUA has expended $2,648,038.89 or 36.38 percent of budgeted expenditures.

• Sales Tax Report: During October the city received $375,768.24 in sales tax and $38,288.49 in use tax for a total of $409,783.09. This is down 2.36 percent from October 2022 and up 1.01 percent from September 2023. Sales and use tax are at 33.03 percent of the FY 2023-2024 budget.

• Utility Billing Report: During October, the city billed $403,390.64 utilities, an increase of $1,302.33 from September 2023. The city billed out 30 million gallons of water compared to 31 million in October 2022.

• Motor Vehicle and Gas Excise Tax Report: During October, the city collected $4,128.12 in motor vehicle and gas excise tax. The year-to-date collections are $14,008.97, which is 31.75 percent of budgeted revenues. These funds are dedicated to the maintenance and improvement of streets within the City of Alva.

Bier noted that the city has only made one transfer from the utility authority since the beginning of this fiscal year in July. These transfers are made when the general fund is low on cash. "We're pretty much on target," Bier said of the financial report.

Across all funds, the city has $5,184,746.71 invested in interest-bearing accounts.