ST. PAUL – The County of St. Paul’s audited financial statements for 2022 have been released, ending the previous year with a stable footing, said the municipality’s auditor during the April 25 Public Works meeting.
For 2022, the County expected a revenue of $25 million. Its overall actual revenue was $26.6 million. The biggest contributor to the discrepancy is user fees and the sale of goods, where the County expected $1.8 million in revenue, and the actual was $3 million.
When compared to 2021, the County’s 2022 overall revenue was $1.4 million lower. The County had a total revenue of $28 million in 2021.
Still the biggest contributor to the lower revenue was user fees and sales of good, which was $1.6 million lower in 2022, compared to 2021. The user fees and sales of goods in 2021 was $4.7 million, compared to 2022’s $3 million.
Government transfers for operations are also lower for 2022. The County received $1.9 million from the government last year, while the County received $2.2 million from the government in 2021.
Shawn Warrington, auditor with Synergy Chartered Accountants, explained this was due to one-time grants in 2021 related to COVID-19, resulting in higher transfers in 2021, and lower transfers in 2022.
Aside from that, there are not many discrepancies across the board, except for higher net municipal taxes in 2022. The County’s 2022 net municipal taxes are $21.1 million, compared to $20 million in 2021.
Warrington noted that as customary, council budgeted some numbers lower as opposed to budgeting unachievable figures.
Expenses
On the other hand, the County spent $1.3 million less than budgeted in 2022, and also spent $1.3 million less than they did in 2021. The County spent a total of $29.9 million in 2021 compared to spending $28.6 million in 2022.
Among the bigger highlights for expenses was less spending on roads, streets, walkways, and lighting in 2022. “This was because there was a lot of custom work and contract work to third parties from last year because there was more work that was undertaken,” Warrington told County council.
The County budgeted $17.8 million but spent $17.3 million on roads, streets, walkways, and lighting, which is $1.4 million lower than the $18.7 million spent in 2021.
Excess in revenue
Overall, the County saw an excess in revenue of $376,902 in 2022 compared to $874,429 in 2021.
After discussing other items within the County’s financial statement, Warrington concluded the County, in his opinion, “has had another good year.” He noted the County saved money “for a rainy day and for future use,” but it also put “tax dollars to use now, as opposed to holding on to it forever.”
