SPENCER — Spencer’s Board of Aldermen heard a positive report on the town’s finances during Tuesday’s meeting.

Accountant Eddie Carrick gave an overview of the town’s annual audit and said the town “had a good year” financially.

Total revenue for the town’s General Fund during the year was $2.613 million, $40,000 more than budgeted.

General Fund expenditures totaled $2.419 million, $191,000 less than budgeted.

Town Manager Larry Smith said some of the savings resulted from staff vacancies that the town is still trying to fill.

After being named town manager in 2005, Smith said he and staff worked to cut as much spending as they could in the first few years of his term. The benefits of that cost cutting are still prevalent today, he said.

Carrick said $194,000 was added to the town’s total fund balance, which stood at $2,360,237 as of June 30 — the end of the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

The available fund balance, $1.8 million, is about 75 percent of the town’s budgeted expenditures for the current fiscal year, Carrick said, well above the average for municipalities in the state.

Smith said having a strong fund balance gives the town better borrowing power.

The town has seen revenue from property taxes increase the last few years. During the 2013-’14 fiscal year, $1.35 million was brought in. The year before saw the town collect $1.29 million. The amount was $1.26 million for 2012, an improvement over 2011.

Smith said it’s a good sign, and that it means people are taking care of their properties.

“That shows that things are on the up swing,” he said.

The town also decreased its total debt by nearly $200,000 to $1.03 million during the year.

Carrick told the board to “stay conservative” when handling town finances.

“It’s tough out there for small towns, and it’s going to get tougher,” he said about the state and federal governments putting more burdens on municipalities.

Speaking about the town’s finances, Mayor Jody Everhart said, “You got to look to the future.”

After a closed session, the board, in a 4-2 vote, approved a 5 percent increase to Smith’s $72,461 annual salary. The raise will increase his pay by $3,623.

Aldermen Reid Walters and Jim Gobbel voted against the raise.

The board also voted unanimously to give the town’s full-time employees an end-of-year bonus. The 20 employees who’ve been with the town for at least a year will get  $1,000 while the eight who’ve worked for the town for less than a year will have their bonus prorated.

Contact reporter David Purtell at 704-797-4264.