WHEELING -- Passing three quarters through the current fiscal year, the city of Wheeling remains on solid ground with its finances, despite a COVID-related shortfall in revenues that is approaching a half-million dollars.
Members of the Finance Committee of Wheeling City Council recently reviewed the city's March financial report, which marked the completion of the third quarter of the current fiscal year that started in the midst of the pandemic in July 2020. Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said revenues for last month alone were noticeably down compared to last year.
"Revenues for the month of March were $2,632,000," Herron said, noting that city revenues for March of 2020 came in at around $2,764,000. "So it's about $140,000 less than last year at the same time."
The general fund cash balance at the end of March was $2,185,000, compared to the same time in 2020 when it was at $2,263,000.
"So it's very similar," Herron said. "We are still seeing the effects of COVID on revenue. Basically, the revenue that we're down thus far this fiscal year is in parking meter revenue, video lottery and table gaming -- which are starting to bounce back, but it's down."
Video lottery and table gaming revenues in the city are down by a total of about $260,000 for the fiscal year, Herron said. Bed tax is down by $296,000.
"There are others, but these are the major ones," Herron said of the revenue hits. "Even though the B&O Tax revenue is $660,000 ahead of the same time last year, we're still over $400,000 behind in other categories, other than contracting. The city is benefiting from the freeway construction project that is currently underway and will be for at least the next year."
Through much of the pandemic, city revenues from the business and occupational tax have remained strong. Because of major infrastructure projects that are ongoing in the city -- including the Interstate 70 bridge replacement and others -- revenues from construction work has helped soften the blow from pandemic-related revenue losses.
"We're benefiting from the contracting, and we've also not had to make any transfer from the budget stabilization fund this year, which is unusual for the city," Herron said. "The same time last year, we had made a transfer of $500,000. This year, we did not make any transfers."
Each month last year, the city was able to bolster its Municipal Budget Stabilization fund and its Project Fund with reimbursements from the state for COVID-related losses through the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act. The CARES Act reimbursements to the city of Wheeling from mid-March and April through December of last year averaged around $1 million per month.
With this fiscal safety net in place, the city continued normal operations through the pandemic with millions of dollars backing its Municipal Budget Stabilization Fund, while still being in a position to continue moving forward with a number of major city projects.
Expenditures in the city during the fiscal year through March came in at $2.7 million, compared to $2.3 million the same time during the previous year. Herron indicated the city's departments pretty much are right in line with their budgets in terms of spending so far this fiscal year.
"From an expenditure perspective, we're 75% through the year, and overall expenditures are at 77%," he said. "Overall, we're still in a pretty solid position three quarters through the fiscal year."
This month, the city is expected to be getting a sizable, one-time garbage bill in the wake of the recent Wheeling Island Cleanup, which saw scores of large, rolloff-style dumpsters worth of trash, old furniture and other unwanted items removed in a neighborhood-wide blitz that operated similar to a flood disaster response event. Ward 2 Councilman Ben Seidler, who along with city department heads and crews have been commended for the effort, noted this week that the city "spent upwards of $100,000 on the Wheeling Island cleanup this week."