Newtown Finance Director Robert Tait continued an annual tradition of reviewing key details of the 2020 municipal financial report when he appeared before the Board of Selectmen and Legislative Council. Tait will conclude his reporting when he appears before the Board of Finance on January 11.

He said the information being presented is virtually identical for each group, however, questions coming from the panel members may differ.

“I think Newtown taxpayers will be interested in the same high points as the elected officials,” Tait told The Newtown Bee following a roughly 30 minute presentation to selectmen on January 4.

The review included a look at the municipality’s general fund, special revenue funds, capital prwoject funds, and the local pension fund.

Turning to the basic financial statements, Tait started with the revenue expense report. That showed the town’s annual change in net position was in the black for 2020, having increased by $6,076,413.

The net increase to the general fund’s fund balance also increased by $638,526, and was mainly attributed to a substantial surplus in the school district budget, part of which was returned to the taxpayers at the end of the fiscal cycle.

“Basically if the fund balance is increasing [year-over-year], the town is moving in the right direction,” Tait told selectmen. “And it means we’re investing in the town, mainly through our CIP [capital improvement plan] program.”

Regarding the town’s medical self-insurance fund, Tait said its fund balance remained healthy despite a $100,000 decrease.

“We planned that decrease because the fund balance was too large,” he said. “But we want to decrease it over time, not suddenly. If we wanted to carry 20 percent of claims, it would be $3.5 million — right now it is $5 million.”

The municipal employee pension fund balance also increased in 2020, closing out the fiscal year with a net total of $50,635,169, a bump of nearly $2.4 million or 4.6 percent.

The municipality’s anticipated outstanding debt stood at $81,390,284 at year’s end, “and it’s manageable through the CIP process,” the finance director said.

“Property taxes have a favorable net balance of $300,000-plus,” a collection rate of 99.3 percent, Tait said, although “investment income went down slightly,” shedding $220,066.

Uncollected local taxes totaled $2,175,375.

Drilling into departmental balances, General Government expenses came in almost $45,000 less than budgeted; Public Safety showed a $26,436 surplus; Health & Welfare was just over $8,000 in the black; Public Works surplus totaled $55,146; and Parks and Rec logged an $11,281 surplus.

Shifting to special revenue funds, Tait noted that special private duty collections for the police department utilizing officers and town vehicles on road construction sites was $1,425,702; the school lunch program fund took in more than $1.4 million; and educational grants topped off at $4,176,321.

The finance director pointed out that the Edmond Town Hall fund balance dropped from $161,802 down to $64,524 — which was anticipated, as officials last year requested the Board of Managers to utilize some fund balance to offset capital projects instead of those projects being paid for by bonding.

At the same time, an Edmond Town Hall Trust Fund held $1,039,830 as the 2020 fiscal cycle ended.

The Newtown Community Center fund balance was $1,553,688 and included an incoming gift grant from GE for annual operating expenses; and a special Waterfront Fund for all local waterfront projects saw an increase of $76,585, topping it off at $368,950.

Tait closed calling the selectmen’s attention to the school district’s Student Activity Fund, which despite $1,089,736 in expenditures, closed out 2020 with a balance of $767,255.

“We’re talking about quite a bit of money, so obviously there has to be monetary controls there,” he concluded.

Residents wishing to review the finer points of the annual finance report can do so by visiting the municipal website’s Finance Department page. It is also attached to the January 4 Board of Selectmen’s minutes, available at newtown-ct.gov.