Hagar Township has received a clean and unmodified audit for the most recent fiscal year.
Hagar Township Supervisor Izzy DiMaggio tells us the board of trustees heard the results this week.
“Hagar Township remains debt-free,” DiMaggio said. “We don’t owe anybody anything. All funds that they covered, they were all positive funds, surplus in all the funds of the township.”
The audit found at the end of the current fiscal year, Hagar Township’s fund balance was about $3.6 million, an increase of about $8,000 from the previous year. The general fund is about $2.1 million with $1.2 million unassigned and available at the discretion of the township government.
DiMaggio says with all funds healthy, the township is in a good position to face any issues that may come up.
“The auditor suggested that it’s important to keep healthy balances because of unexpected major expenditures. We had a couple of them last year. One of them in particular was erosion at the bluff at Hagar Beach, which cost us about $115,000.”
DiMaggio credits responsible employees and elected officials for putting Hagar Township in a strong financial position. He noted it’s unusual for a township to have no debts.
“Pretty unusual for townships, cities, villages to say that they don’t owe anybody a penny, no long-standing bonds or anything like that. And so we’re very proud of that. We’re very proud of the fact that we have a surplus in all our funds.”
Upcoming needs are expected to be a request by the North Berrien Fire and Rescue Board for funds to cover a shortage of fire personnel during the weekdays. That could cost the township between $35,000 and $60,000. DiMaggio says the township this year will also take in about $70,000 less for its general fund due to a Headlee override in its millage. Other than that, he says Hagar Township is well-positioned for the future.
