‘Perfect storm’ of expenses created $400K deficit in a small Centre County municipality
Port Matilda operated last year at a $400,000 deficit, according to an annual audit and financial report made public Tuesday, an eye-catching number for one of the smallest municipalities in Centre County.
The borough brought in $376,490, but its expenses totaled $776,760. Some of its largest expenses were labeled as general government buildings and highway construction and rebuilding projects.
Borough Council President Mark Lively did not dispute that the borough ran at a steep deficit last year. Instead, he characterized 2023 as a “perfect storm of weird projects.”
“While it looks like a horrible year on paper, it was just a bunch of savings being spent,” Lively said.
In further describing the deficit as a “series of one-offs,” Lively said it came as a result of delayed insurance and grant payments. The borough either has or Lively expects it to be reimbursed.
Some of the borough’s expenses included repairing its office after a drunken driver slammed a pickup truck into the building’s foundation, which caused more than $220,000 in damage. A storm drain project and refurbishing a water supply tank were also large expenses.
Lively said the borough is in an “OK” position financially. He does not expect the borough to operate at a deficit this year and said it typically operates with a surplus of a “couple thousand” of dollars.
A 2021 audit and financial report showed the borough operated at a surplus of nearly $40,000.
The borough operates with a budget in the “very low six figures,” Lively said. He was unable to immediately say how much the borough has in reserves, but said it has “sufficient funds to operate.”
He also said the borough does not have to raise taxes “at this point.”