The city of Green Park’s total net position increased by more than $2 million during fiscal 2012, primarily due to infrastructure improvements.

An audit performed by Hochschild, Bloom & Co. for fiscal 2012, which ended Dec. 31, reported the city’s total net position — the difference between assets and liabilities — increased by $2,062,239, or 23.5 percent.

The city ended fiscal 2012 with a total net position of $10,846,265, compared to $8,784,026 in fiscal 2011, according to Mike Williams of Hochschild, Bloom.

“Overall, there’s an improvement in the net position of the city, and it’s primarily due to the construction of the capital assets,” he said during a recent presentation of the audit to the Board of Aldermen.

Green Park completed the reconstruction of a roughly 6,000-foot stretch of Green Park Road from Tesson Ferry Road to Lin Valle Drive last year. In 2011, work was completed on a new bridge over Gravois Creek on Green Park Road.

Eighty percent of both projects were funded through federal grants.

During fiscal 2012, the city spent a total of $1,317,144 in federal grants, according to the audit.

“… I think that that’s a lot of money that’s coming into the city to improve the city’s assets, the streets and roads of the city, that the federal government pays for …,” Williams said.

Williams quoted from the audit, which stated, “In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective modified cash basis financial position of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the city as of Dec. 31, 2012 …”

“… Those are kind of the magic words you’re looking for when you’re reading an audit report, that the auditor thinks that the financial statements are correct in all material respects,” he told aldermen July 15.

Green Park ended fiscal 2012 with a combined fund balance of $2,971,477, according to the audit.

The city began the year with a balance of $3,114,895 in its general and capital projects funds and ended 2012 with $2,971,477 — a decrease of $143,418.

The unassigned fund balance for the general fund was $2,757,914, or 300 percent of general fund expenditures.

“The general fund balance increased by $207,271, mainly due to a decrease in street-maintenance expenditures,” the audit stated. “The capital projects fund decreased by $350,689 due to expenditures for street projects. While the capital projects fund shows $273,069 committed for construction, creating a negative unassigned balance, the city is expected to receive 80 percent of that amount from grants.”

During fiscal 2012, the city’s general fund expenditures were $89,318 — 9 percent — less than budgeted expenditures of $1,007,949, while general fund expenditures were $54,452 — 5 percent — more than the budgeted amount of $1,071,450.

“Overall, general fund revenues are below the 2011 total by $37,736, due to a decrease in utility tax and investment revenue,” the audit stated.

Capital projects fund expenditures during fiscal 2012 were $206,090 — 10 percent — more than budgeted expenditures of $2,109,950, “primarily due to fluctuations in grant project costs,” the audit stated. “Capital projects fund revenues were $216,210 or 10 percent under the amount budgeted of $2,181,561, primarily due to grant revenue.”

Sales taxes total 30 percent of the city’s revenues, according to the audit.

“The nationwide economic recession has impacted the city’s operations to the extent that growth of general fund tax revenue has slowed in comparison to prior years … The general fund sales tax saw an increase of 0.1 percent versus 2011,” the audit stated. “The capital projects fund capital improvements sales tax decreased 0.3 percent from 2011.”

For 2013, “no growth is estimated for general fund sales tax of capital improvements sales tax,” the audit stated. “Interest earnings on idle monies were lower in 2012, earning an average of 0.8 percent.”

Additionally, the audit noted that Green Park operated with no property tax to its residents in fiscal 2012. Since its incorporation in 1995, the city has never levied a municipal property tax.