It was all a big misunderstanding, according to Moore County’s UT County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) Consultant Melisa Kelton.

In July, Metro Mayor Bonnie Lewis submitted Metro’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget to the State Comptroller office for approval. The State denied (or gave a conditional approval) to that budget based on the fact that the forms sent to state showed a negative fund balance. However, those figures were a mistake. Mayor Lewis’s office submits the budget each each with a piece of accounting software called NextGen.

“When the NextGen report was generated,” Kelton said. “it used amended number for FY 2020 and not actual numbers.”

Kelton says neither she nor Mayor Lewis noticed because the two reports only created a noticeable change in one line item … the fund balance. The incorrect report showed a negative fund balance, when in fact it should have showed “closer to $677,000,” according to Kelton.

Kelton says it’s important to note that none of the FY 2021 budget figures changed and that once the corrected budget was resubmitted, the state approved it.

Mayor Lewis appeared before the Metro Council to explain the mistake on Monday night.

“I just wanted to be transparent and let you know we had an uh-oh but everything is right in the world now,” Mayor Lewis said.

No further action was required. If you have questions, contact your Metro Council member or the Metro Mayor’s office at 931-759-7076. •

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