On Thursday, October 28, Jeff Mitchell and Sandy Tondreau, of Mitchell & Company summarized their formal audit of Middleburg's books for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, Jerry Shiro's last as Middleburg's Town Administrator.

What We Own

Middleburg ended the year with total assets of $8.7 million: $1.6 million in cash; $196,000 in uncollected receivables; and, $7 million in fixed assets.

Mitchell quickly noted that $127,000 of the nearly $200,000 in receivables were accountable to July water and sewer bills, just mailed at the time of the audit, not to large numbers of unpaid bills.

The $7 million in fixed assets include, among other things, the depreciated original cost of the Town's water lines, wells, treatment plants, and office buildings.

What We Owe

The Town's payables are "fairly current" Mitchell noted. The Town's long-term debt stands at $3.5 million, $3.2 million of which stems an interest-cost-saving refinance of Town bonds in 2007.

General Fund Deficit

The Town's General Fund, operated at a deficit of $122,000 in fiscal 2010, Mitchell reported. Most of that deficit was due to unanticipated snow removal costs of some $80,000.

A decrease in General Fund revenues also contributed to the deficit. In 2008, the Town received bank tax revenue of $232,000. In 2010 that number had dropped to $150,000. Parking revenues also dropped, from $71,000 in 2008 to only $39,000 in 2010.

Revenue from the Town's real estate tax, according to Mitchell, "stayed fairly level even though the assessments were down slightly."

Mitchell described the town's expense control as "excellent," with General Fund expenses for the fiscal year totaling only $581,000, some $99,000 under the $668,000 budget.

The Health Center Fund, which earns money from rents on the town-owned Health Center Building, and provides funds for a number of charitable and other town-approved social service activities, reported an operating surplus of $14,000.

The third of the Town's operating accounts, the Water/Sewer Fund operated at a nominal deficit of $215,000, though Mitchell noted that, strictly speaking, the figure included elements that were "not truly operating costs." If one looked at real revenue vs. real operating costs, Mitchell assured Council, the Water/Sewer Fund would show only a $52,000 loss.

Where Has All the Water Gone?

One of the abiding mysteries of the Town's Water/Sewer system remains the discrepancy from what appears to be the number of gallons of water PUMPED by the town, vs. the number of gallons BILLED.

For years, Middleburg has "lost" roughly half its water . . . issuing water bills for only 50% of the water apparently being pumped through the town's systems. Other towns in Loudoun appear to be able to account for at least 70% of their water, with some accounting for as much as 9 gallons out of every 10.

Mitchell noted, with some frustration that "this was an issue he has raised over and over again, with no solution."

Mayor Betsy Davis suggested that "this item be put on the Council's plate." Councilmember Mark Snyder also remarked that he "planned to bring these issues back to the Council soon."

All in all, Middleburg's budgeting process had worked "very well" according to Mitchell, who noted that his firm's audit showed nothing "Council did not know about even though it operated at a deficit".

More Trash Talk

After further discussion of the already much-debated amendments to the Town's Trash ordinances proposed amendments to garbage ordinance, Council again took no action.

After taking notes on nearly an hour of discussion, Town Clerk Rhonda North observed that "the Council was expanding the ordinance greatly beyond what it has had in the past," suggesting that "it may take some time to get the ordinance to the point where the Council was comfortable adopting it." Mayor Davis thanked the Town Clerk for all her work on the proposed changes to date, as Council again tabled the matter for later deliberation.

Schiro Honored

Mayor Betsey Davis presented outgoing Town Administrator Jerry Schiro with a copy of Council's formal proclamation recognizing his accomplishments, as well as a framed photograph, taken by Jim Poston, of the 2009 Christmas in Middleburg event.

Davis noted, on behalf of the entire Council and Town, that Schiro would be greatly missed.

Mr. Schiro thanked the Council and graciously remarked that he had enjoyed his tenure greatly.

Holiday Parking

Council voted unanimously to allow free parking in all Middleburg's public parking lots beginning Monday, December 6 through Friday, December 31/

The Meandering Trail

Councilmember Bundles Murdock reported that those interested in the ongoing "meandering trail project" were forming a new committee, which would, in time, provide Council with recommendations for a walking trail that would circumnavigate the village, passing though it most scenic and interesting natural assets.