The city of Benton Harbor is replenishing some key government funds that had become depleted over the summer.
Back in September, the city Personnel and Finance Committee was told both the general fund and the utility services fund were low. Plante Moran’s Rhonda Hildebrand told the committee the city was paying invoices as soon as cash came in and as it could while waiting on property tax revenue and for people to get caught up on water bills.
Speaking to the full Benton Harbor City Commission on Monday, Personnel and Finance Chair Edward Isom said things are picking back up.
“The general fund received $1.3 million in summer property taxes in September, which is the majority of the summer’s property taxes,” Isom said. “The utility fund cash collection was $400,000 in September. So the money is coming in, still playing catch up.”
The utility fund was left low because the city did not charge residents for water during the lead crisis. Also during that time, the city repeatedly moved money from its general fund to the utility fund to shore it up. With the lead crisis now over, things are getting back to normal.
