The utility fund is a separate entity from the general fund in a city's budget. It is a business that stands on its own, generating its own operating dollars as well as surplus funds which can be used for emergencies, large projects and reinvestments into the system. And Hartsville's cushion isn't as large as it needs to be. Basically, Welch said it was a series of important yet costly projects, combined with the city's history of using utility fund reserves to balance the general fund budget, that have made the difference. Neither is bad in and of itself, he said.
Transfers happen every year all over the country.
But they can also get expensive. These include a North Fifth Street reconditioning project in the early 1990s, followed by the Streetscape project, the sports complex, Cargil Place, the Hartsville Crossing development, and most recently the South Fifth Street widening project. We literally moved equipment from the North Fifth Street project right into Streetscape. The utility fund will work, but the cash flow issue is the concern right now. To reestablish a comfort zone is going to take time, and it's going to take a rate increase.