The numbers are in, and Bradford scored top marks for paying down debt and investing in infrastructure last year, according to auditor Sue Bragg.
Council received a report from accounting firm Baker Tilly about Bradford’s draft audited financial statements for 2023 during the regular council meeting on June 18, which shows the town had a tax-levy surplus of $1,171,034 from which council approved transferring $56,180 to the general fund and $1,114,854 to the reserve fund — including $601,704 into the municipal capital facilities reserves to cover the cost of 12 firefighters hired in 2023 and $480,410 into the capital replacement reserve.
Council also approved carrying forward into 2024 about $26.1 million for capital projects, after about $8.3 million was spent in 2023 out of about $34.4 million budgeted.
A report from Nathalie Carrier, deputy treasurer, explained that most projects were underway in some form, and Bragg further explained during the presentation that “in this day and age” the amount of projects that can be completed or amount of equipment that can be purchased doesn’t always go as expected.
When it comes to investing in infrastructure “this is where Bradford shines,” Bragg said, explaining that the rate at which the town consumes its assets is well within the province’s threshold for being considered low risk.
That’s especially true of the town’s linear assets, like roads and pipes for water or sewers, which still have about 70 per cent of their useful life remaining overall.
“That’s great,” Bragg said.
The town’s net debt was 101 per cent of revenue in 2023, which is “tracking down,” compared to 110 per cent in 2022 and “in a good position” compared to 269 per cent in 2018, according to Bragg.
Bradford took on no long-term liabilities during 2023, and its debt service payments were just 4.4 per cent of revenue compared to 16.8 per cent in 2022.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott asked how the town could continue to maintain a “good trajectory” in terms of debt, while knowing the municipality will need to continue to invest for growth. Bragg said continuing to pay down debt will prevent interest payments from becoming too large.
However, she also cautioned that “debt is going to be life” for a “municipality of your size.”
After user charges, government transfers and reserve transfers, the town’s operating revenue for 2023 was $79,430,200, while the town’s expenses were $85,012,570, which should have left a shortfall of $5,582,370, but additional revenue from capital assets, tax assessments and investment revenue provided an extra $21,292,053, leaving the town with an annual surplus of $15,709,683.
While the town started 2023 with a cash position of $9,744,738, repayment of long-term debt saw that decrease to $6,343,292 at the end of the year, and $8,419,782 of revenue went directly into reserve funds.
The town increased total reserves and reserve funds by $9,613,605 to $75,355,292 at the end of 2023, compared with $65,741,687 at the end of 2022.
In total, Bradford's tangible capital assets and funds were valued at $518,184,350.
Mayor James Leduc said he was “quite pleased” with the audit and felt that it showed the “prudence” of current and past councils, and emphasized the town will “grab the benefit” of infrastructure as it grows.
“We’re in good shape,” he said. “We do a great job of making sure that we pay down debt when we can.”
The audit did contain a note that the town was about $140.7 million overdrawn on development charges, an increase of about $17.4 million from about $123.3 million at the end of 2022.
However, when asked by BradfordToday, finance director and treasurer Ian Goodfellow explained the town has been overdrawn here since 2010, as past councils made the decision to invest in infrastructure like the library and leisure centre to help create a complete community ahead of anticipated growth.
The town accessed those funds early through agreements with developers and Goodfellow expects the money to be 100 per cent recoverable from future growth.
While it might take longer to collect the funds if growth lags behind expectations, they are managed separately from the tax levy and there is zero chance taxpayers will need to make up the difference, he said.
“They will never have to contribute a single cent,” Goodfellow said in regards to the development charges accounts.
Council also received two more financial reports for information, both from Carrier.
The first explained that the town’s financial investments for 2023 had been handled in accordance with both the Municipal Act and the town’s own policies.
During last year, the town maintained an average cash balance of $20.9 million, held mostly in banks with an average return of 4.91 per cent, leading to an income of $1,027,744.
The second report provided an update on the town’s 2024 finances as of April 30, which explained all areas appear to be on or below established budgets and as a result, there were no significant issues to report.
