McComb Over Spend Reported
McComb general fund ran $775,000 over budget, finance officer tells board
The city's finance officer told the Board of Mayor and Selectmen the general fund ended last fiscal year well over budget and short on revenue, with reserves covering the gap.
At the board's regular meeting Oct. 28, the officer, identified in the meeting recording only by her first name, Valerie, with no surname given, said the general fund "spent about 14.9 million dollars and it's about 775,000 dollars more than the budget for the entire year." She told board members the fund "also spent 2.9 million dollars more than it's taken in so far."
She said the general fund "started the year with about 3.8 million dollars in reserves, which was covering that gap, and cash is still positive at this point." No board response is recorded in the material provided.
Nine of the city's funds ran over budget, according to the presentation, with audit costs, liability insurance, and police and fire overtime tied to understaffing cited as factors driving the overruns. The disclosure comes directly from the city's own finance office rather than an outside audit, offering an early public accounting of strain on McComb's day-to-day spending as the current fiscal year gets underway.