| Caribou City Manager |
|
City of Caribou 25 High Street Caribou, Maine 04736 |
Steven R. Buck, City Manager Phone: (207)493-3324 Menu Option #7 Fax: (207)498-3954 E-mail: manager@cariboumaine.org |
The City Manager is appointed by a majority vote of the City Council for an indefinite term and is responsible for implementing policy established by the City Council as well as the administration of all City affairs. The Manager oversees and keeps the Council informed of the business, financial condition and future needs of the City.
Caribou City Manager Steven R. Buck was appointed by the City Council in June 2001. In addition to his day-to-day duties, Mr. Buck is the Superintendent of roads, parking lots, bridges and buildings and the purchasing agent for the City (with the exception of those buildings coming under the School Department, Cary Medical Center, Public Library and Jefferson Cary Hospital Fund). Mr. Buck serves as an Ex-Officio member of the Cary Medical Center, Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Tri-Community Landfill Boards of Directors. He also serves as the Fair Hearing Authority for all challenged General Assistance Administrator’s decisions and conducts fair hearings in accordance with applicable State laws.
City Manager’s
Annual Report 2009
The Annual Report for 2009 is dedicated to the Sesquicentennial or 150th Anniversary of the Town of Lyndon, now the City of Caribou. It was on April 5th, 1859 that our Community so voted to incorporate as the Town of Lyndon. The current designation of Caribou was made on February 8, 1877. Since that time, Caribou has grown to become the most Northeastern City in the United States of America, a distinction as unique as our People, and our City.The City of Caribou is celebrating 150 years of history as a Town and now a City. We have much to be proud of given our diversity, heritage, and strong sense of community. Caribou has grown to a full service center community offering regional services through partnerships with our neighbors that have built a scale and quality of services greater than our individual capacity. Caribou prides itself on building a sense of hometown by investing in itself through our downtown, neighborhoods, businesses, recreational facilities, cultural offerings, and especially our youth. "Caribou Cares about Kids," remains a founding principle in our educational excellence and our youth programming. Pride is evidenced in the continued hard working spirit that not only built Caribou's past but will also continue to shape our future. A hometown, our Hometown, and where we choose to live and raise our families is the foundation of our sense of identity. It is this foundation that supports the work of Caribou's People, making our Community the best it can be in all respects.
To commemorate Caribou's 150th ear as a municipality, a special inster has been compiled as part of this year's Annual Report. The administrative team hopes the prictorial insert serves to document the hard work, pride, and dedication of the people that organized the events, the community spirit, and celebration enjoyed by all. Caribou has celebrated its history, its culture, on many occasions, but one would be hard pressed to image a more impressive series of commemorative events than those taking place this past year. Congratulations to the Community of Caribou and may we all continue to carry the spirit of 2009 well into the future, a bright future, for Caribou and each and every one of us.
Although 2009 was a year of celebration, the economic downturn did signfiicantly impact municipal operations for the year. The receipt of non-property tax revenues associated with the loss of volumn in business and personal activities made the continued diligence in overall operations even more essential. Balancing the budget at the local level was exacerbated by the State's struggle to balance their own budget. The state reduced state revenue by sharing and general purpose aid to education even greater than that caused by the downturn. At the time of writing this report, no significant increases are within the short-term view and the ability to continue short-term reductions to compensate will likely not prevail another year. Although these impacts are great, the fortitude of the City Council and the continued conservative nature of Caribou's finances will serve to fulfill as high a level of services and provisions in the foreseeable future as possible.
The remainder of the Report will focus on the municipal finances and operations for 2009. Exerts of the most pertinent exhibits from the annual audit are within the Report. The reader may choose to focus on the Managment Discussions and Analysis as the written summary explaining the numerous financial reports and comparing the results of the 2009 audit to the prior year's audit. Management prepares this two year comparison to highlight changes and trends within our municipal finances.
The City's fund accounting on a modified accrual basis may be breifly summarized. The expense budget ended the year with savings of 3.01% or $255,792. As the Manager, I must commend the administrative team and every municipal employee for their part in overseeing the assets of the City as well as reducing expenditures this past year, and every year. The reader shoudl expect nothing less of the people serving them. The revenue report, although consevatively set, under performed by $142,454. There is very little control over the non-property tax revenue as budgeted and the performance in 2009 was again very reflective of our current economy. The net of operations for the year on a cash basis was a positive $113,338. This final position would not have been possible absent the continued diligence of the City Council and their oversight over the conduct of business and our overall finances.
In closing, please spend time reading the entire Report. Much time and care goes inot the complition and production of the Report as a service to the community. The Managment Discussion and Analysis is prepared specifically to inform the Reader of the City's ongoing financial positon, summary of operatiions, and how internal controls over the fund accounting compares to annual budgets. Departments have prepared reports specific to their activities for the year to also lend understanding toward the overall managment of the City's assets. I would encourage all the people in Caribou who make our Community a speical and inviting place to live, raise our families, work, and call home, to again carry the spirit of 2009 forward to the betterment of our Community. We are the "Most Northeastern City in America," where the spirit still lives.
Sincerely,
Steven R. Buck
City Manager,