Even without earnings from the controversial metered parking project, City Hall recorded a surplus, although minimal, in March, which also saw a more than $100 million increase in revenue from rates, compared with the same period last year.
The City Treasurer’s report presented at Monday’s statutory council meeting, showed that the city earned $857,442,637 in the first three months of the year, including $239,656,279 earned in March alone. During that month, the city spent $237,236,475, representing a difference of $2,419,804.
Of the city’s earnings, $186,546,074 represented revenue from rates, which was a more than $100 million increase from the $80,099,680 earned in March, 2016. This sum is also significantly larger than the $104,583,563 earned from rates in March, 2015. In total, rate payments have earned the council $500,792,211 in the first quarter; these payments have been budgeted to earn the council $1.745 billion this year.
If the current rate of collection of rates and the generation of other revenue continues, the city is poised to exceed its $2.9 billion budgeted earnings even without revenue from its suspended metered parking project.
Other revenue earnings during the period included $23,940,481 in market fees, $13,780,000 in container fees and $15,389,724 in sundries, which included fees for compliances certificates and building approvals.
Notably the heading of sundries has in the first quarters earned nearly 80% of the $323,311,100 it is projected to bring to the council for the year. It has already generated $254,283,322.
Not reflected in the report is the $667,000 earned from the metered parking project for the period of little over a month for which it operated.
Expenditures in March were $76,430,907 for employment, $47,135,558 for employment overhead, $55,591,505 for operating expenses, $57,703,989 for maintenance expenses and $374,516 for other expenses.
The lack of a deficit over the last three months is unusual for City Hall. For the first six months of last year, the council recorded a $400 million increase in revenue yet still managed to record a deficit in that period.
