Utility cash may have helped the city of Poplar Bluff, but it was not needed to make any debt payments, according to city manager Mark Massingham.
An extra $243,086.22 in utility money has been held in the city's accounts payable fund since May 18, 2017.
The money will be applied to a payment due next month on a $5 million Southern Bank loan for technology and equipment.
"Yes, this does help with our cash flow, but to say we couldn't make the payments is just not true," said Massingham, who has been working with the Daily American Republic since Saturday to gather information about the utility money.
Sources familiar with the information have said the early payment from the utility was needed to help prop up a low city cash reserve.
Combined monthly cash balances were between $1.19 million and more than $2 million in 2017 for the city, Massingham has explained.
A cash balance serves many purposes for the city, allowing it to pay monthly bills as well as put out large sums of money for which it will later be reimbursed.
The city maintains three cash reserve accounts. These are for the general fund, the capital account and a money market account containing the last of the proceeds from the sale of the city cable division.
The capital account is a restricted fund used to pay for equipment and building needs. The Southern Bank payment also comes from this account.
The extra utility money was not included in the capital account balance, Massingham said.
"I knew it was not ours to spend and that it would be used for this year's loan payment," he explained.
Annual payments are $579,000 on the Southern Bank loan, Massingham said. The loan covers a 10-year period with payment starting in 2015.
Municipal Utilities pays 58 percent, or $336,284 a year.
The remaining 42 percent comes from the city's capital fund.
Approximately $1.7 million has been paid to Southern Bank to date, Massingham said. Just over $1 million of that came from the utility.
The general fund cash account was empty at the end of 2017, according to information provided to the DAR as the city council prepared a 2018 budget.
The money market account and capital account each had approximately $1.2 million.
The city expects to deficit spend approximately $47,000 in 2018 from its general fund.
The capital account cash balance is projected to drop to about $850,000.
The city must meet payroll and benefits for approximately 250 employees, at close to $800,000 a month, according the 2018 budget.
Monthly bills include more than $4,000 in charges for phone services and $5,000 a month to monitor and maintain computer equipment purchased under former city manager Heath Kaplan.
Cash reserves also cover bills such as employee health insurance expenses and certain Shelby Road construction projects, for which the city is later reimbursed. The city was owed more than $1 million at the end of 2016, for example, by a policy that reimburses for certain health insurance costs.
Seven of the past 12 months saw a combined cash balance of more than $1.5 million, Massingham said.