CHV’s finances stable, investment interest revenue up 479%

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

On June 20, Doug Farmen, Cherry Hills Village Director of Finance and Administration, told the city council that its auditor, John Cutler & Associates, had delivered an unqualified (“clean”) opinion on the city’s 2022 financial statements.

Farmen also shared that CHV’s net position, the value of its total assets in excess of its total liabilities, was $51.4 million at the close of 2022, including $21.3 million in capital assets, such as land, buildings, machinery, and equipment used to provide services to its citizens. Also included in the $51.4 million is $3.1 million in restricted funds, leaving $27.0 million that was unrestricted thus is available “to meet the City’s ongoing obligations to residents and creditors.”

The finance director’s report also noted that, “At the close of fiscal year 2022, the City of Cherry Hills Village governmental funds reported combined ending fund balances of $29.2 million, an increase of $4.7 million in comparison with the prior year. Approximately 73% or $21.3 million is available for spending at the government’s discretion (unassigned fund balance).”

During 2022, CHV’s general fund revenues exceeded the budgeted amount by $3.2 million, a 41% positive variance, while its general fund expenditures were $100,000 under the amount budgeted, resulting in a net positive variance of $3.3 million.

CHV’s largest source of revenue is property tax, which comprises 38% of its income from governmental activities, followed by sales and use tax at 26%.

The category with the most significant change in the amount of revenue was investment earnings, which went from $10,025 in 2021 to $489,442 in 2022 for all governmental activities. The huge variance apparently occurred because in 2022, the city was able to invest in Treasury bills, which are 100% secure but had a significantly higher interest rate than a regular bank account. CHV did not have that option to the same degree in 2021 when it needed cash to be more readily available. Also, interest rates in 2021 were much lower than in 2022. fmiklin.villager@gmail. com

On the other side of the ledger, public safety, as it has been historically, was CHV’s largest expenditure category in 2022, followed by parks and recreation and general government. Notably, the city spent only $38,257 all year on its monthly newsletter, the Village Crier, which is largely distributed to residents electronically.

CHV’s police officers received new body worn cameras in 2022 at a cost of $73,200, which was funded 100% by a grant hence no city funds were used.

Private schools in CHV opt to pay for full-time SROs

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

The city council of Cherry Hills Village recently approved a resolution to add $70,427.50 to its 2023 budget to fund the cost of a CHV police officer to function as a full-time SRO (School Resource Officer) at

Kent Denver, after June 30, 2023, the date at which the current agreement between CHV and Kent Denver expired. (That amount is for onehalf year. The full year cost is $140,855.00.) Until that date, Kent Denver had a part-time SRO. The request for a fulltime SRO devoted solely to Kent Denver came from the school, which will reimburse CHV 100% of the cost for the officer’s salary, benefits, equipment, and training.

CHV already has a similar arrangement in place with St. Mary’s Academy, which previously requested the assignment of a full-time SRO to that school at its sole expense.

These assignments do not negatively impact the availability of CHV to fully staff its law enforcement responsibilities.