Budget Summary- Revenues
FY24 ANNUAL BUDGET
Revenues
The County is committed to a strategic, conservative approach to budgeting revenues and expenditures. To estimate revenue for the coming year, the County Manager’s Office and Finance Department consulted with the Tax Administrator, department heads, state agencies and economists. Staff reviewed revenue collection trends, anticipated growth and any known external factors prior to finalizing revenue projections.
The County receives revenue from many sources. The budget consists of the following revenue categories:
Property Tax
Sales/Other Taxes
Other Financial Sources
Sales & Services
Intergovernmental – Grants/Other
Permits & Fees
Miscellaneous
Investment Earnings
REVENUES (ALL FUNDS)
For FY 24, total revenues are $450,241,008 a $24,974,321 (5.87%) increase from the prior year.
Revenues by Source
Revenue by Source- All Funds
REVENUES BY SOURCE AND CATEGORY
Property Tax
The County’s largest source of operating revenue is property tax. Real property, automobiles, boats, trailers and income-producing personal property are subject to property tax unless specifically exempted by law. The County establishes real property values every four years. The total assessed valuation is $32,065,390,204, a $1,262,648,204 (4.1%) increase from the prior year. This includes an estimated total valuation of Real, Personal and Public Service property of $29,252,390,204 and vehicle of $2,813,000,000.
The county uses the total assessed valuation and collection rate to determine the amount of revenue generated. The adopted tax rate is $0.74 per $100 of assessed valuation – the same as the prior year. The collection rate used for the budget cannot exceed the prior year collection rate per state law. The county budgeted property tax revenue based on a conservative real property collection rate of 98.75% percent and a vehicle rate of 99.50%. Property tax revenue is also generated for the Fire Districts at their approved tax rates for each district.
Based on a 98.75% percent collection rate for real property, 99.50% rate for vehicles and an adopted tax rate of 74 cents, the property tax is projected to generate approximately $234,476,760 in the General Fund. Delinquent taxes and interest are estimated to generate an additional $2,040,000. The Fire District are estimated to generate $6,643,105 in property taxes based on their adopted rates. In total the property tax revenue for FY24 is $243,159,865 , an increase of $14,128,256 (4.33%) from the prior year.
Sales/ Other Taxes
The State collects sales taxes, deducts a collection fee, refunds to non-profits and returns the remaining amount to the County. Sales tax is the County’s second largest source of operating revenue. Sales tax revenue totals $73,000,000. That is an increase of $8,100,000 (12.5%) from the prior year. Other revenue in this category includes the Cable Franchise Fee ($450,000), Gross Receipts ($365,000) and Fire District Sales Tax ($1,661,330).
Other Financing Sources
Other Financing Sources revenues include inter-fund transfers, debt and fund balance appropriations. Other examples include a transfer of lottery proceeds from the Capital Outlay Fund for the retirement of school debt service, and occupancy taxes from the Tourism Authority. The Community Investment Fund (CIF) includes a $44.1 million transfer from the General Fund that is also reflected here. A $2,000,000 Contribution to Pension Trust Fund for OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits). Other Financing Sources revenues total $49,378,004, a $8,655 (0.02%) increase from the prior year.
Sales & Services
Charging users for specific services is a method of providing services without resorting to general tax dollars, which allows customers who receive the benefits to pay for the service. Examples include ambulance transport, landfill use and program participation fees (including the County Fair). Sales & Services revenues total $40,734,530, a $2,747,135 (7.23%) from the prior year.
Intergovernmental – Grants/Other
Intergovernmental revenues are primarily state and federal funding and grants. Total intergovernmental revenues total $28,897,940 in the General Fund, $404,000 in the Community Investment Fund, and $57,000 in the Landfill Fund.
Permits and Fees
Permits and fees revenues consist primarily of Register of Deeds and Building Inspection fees. Total Permits and Fees revenues total $8,476,455, a ($1,604,888) (15.92%) decrease from the prior year. The major portion of these revenues come from Building Inspection fees and Register of Deeds Fees. The Building Inspection Fees revenues total $4,800,000. Register of Deeds fee revenues total $3,225,000. Register of Deeds fees are largely related to the recording of documents, like the sale of property or the refinancing of a mortgage.
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous revenues are those collected for activities of the County that are not specific in nature or do not easily fit into another category. Included in this category are donations, grants from non-governmental entities, proceeds from the sale of fixed assets and the disposal tax on white goods. Miscellaneous revenues total $1,261,885, a ($154,029) (10.88%) decrease from the prior year.
Investment Earnings
Investment Earnings are revenues earned on funds invested by the county. Investment earning revenues total $2,045,000, a $1,817,500 (798.9%) increase from the prior year. This is the result of higher interest rate environment.