Things are looking good for the Butler Health System.

The system’s revenue for the 2014 fiscal year was $274.8 million with $260.4 million in expenses, leaving $14.4 million in excess revenue.

Last year, there was $4.3 million in excess revenue.

“That’s a big improvement,” said Anne Krebs, chief financial officer, in an interview.

Finances of the health system were discussed at the annual public system trustees’ meeting Thursday.

Krebs said the big financial change happened partially due to adding higher end neurosurgery and expanding services.

Looking ahead to next year, system CEO Ken DeFurio said construction on a 48,000 square-foot medical office building may begin next week.

He said the project should cost about $20 million. The building will be constructed next to the system’s heart and vascular center near the intersection of routes 422 and 68. It will contain physician’s offices and some outpatient testing facilities.

DeFurio hopes it will be done in the fall of 2015.

He said the system’s growth has made this project necessary.

Net patient revenue, which is the money the system makes from patient care, increased to $271.3 million, up from $251.3 million in 2013. The system has seen 86 percent growth in net patient revenue in the past 10 years.

The system’s operating margin increased to 5 percent this year, up from 1.6 percent last year. The margin has been low since the system began in 2011 paying back $125 million in bonds taken out to pay for the patient tower at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Krebs said the margin has increased faster than anticipated.

“We’ve been slowly coming back up,” Krebs said.

The number of people employed by the health system has increased to 1,989, up from 1,937 last year.

Krebs said the system’s strong financial position has allowed it to contribute $17.8 million to community service programs and free care, invest $1.2 million in training and education for employees, and $6.6 million in capital investments.