PROPOSED BUDGET INFORMATION
FY2020-21
Public Hearing to be held on August 25, 2020
BUDGET OVERVIEW
The Lancaster County Board's proposed budget was completed using the property tax rate of 28.1576 cents along with a projection of a 2.75% increase in valuation. The actual valuation increase was 2.79% which would generate an additional $32,253. Discussion will be held at the budget hearing to determine any changes deemed necessary.
The County's budget is a plan to address a combination of state mandates, local priorities, public safety and infrastructure needs.
BUDGET OF EXPENDITURES
The total proposed budget of expenditures is $200,938,803 which is a 1.33% decrease in comparison to the 2019-20 amended budget.
The largest portion of Lancaster County expenditures is for employee salaries and benefits (41.39%).
Lancaster County's 3 largest budgets:
- County Engineer - $29,543,928
- Corrections - $27,973,020
- County Sheriff - $14,470,936
EXPENDITURES BY FUNCTION
Public Safety, including Law Enforcement and Other, is 44.45% of the budget. Public Safety-Law Enforcement consists of Corrections, County Sheriff, Youth Services Center, etc. Public Safety-Other includes Courts, County Attorney, Public Defender, etc.
General Government is 2nd at 20.40%. General Government includes the County Clerk, County Treasurer, County Assessor/Register of Deeds, etc. The largest dollar amount is for transfers between funds.
Public Works is the 3rd largest function at 14.94%. Public Works consists of the County Engineer and Noxious Weed Control.
GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES
The total budget of expenditures for the general fund is $123,358,224 which is an increase of $683,204. This results in a .56% increase over the prior year.
This budget funds new body cameras for the Sheriff's Office and the new HR/Payroll system will be implemented around October 1. The Lancaster County Board worked with departments throughout the budget process to ensure priorities were met while keeping the growth in expenditures at a reasonable rate.
BUDGET OF REVENUES
Taxes are the largest source of revenue for Lancaster County (54.99%). Taxes consist of Property Tax, Motor Vehicle Tax and Inheritance Tax. Inheritance Tax is deposited into the General Fund and is utilized to decrease the amount of property tax required.
Charges for Services and Fees are second at 19.81%. Lancaster County has also been working with Federal and State agencies for reimbursement of allowable COVID-19 expenditures.
Cash Reserve - General Fund
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends the cash reserve be no less than two months (16.67%) of regular general fund operating expenditures. Based on the recommendation from the GFOA, the General Fund's cash reserve should be $20.6 million. The cash reserve is setup to help cash flow during months of limited property tax collections. Lancaster County is making an effort to increase the General Fund cash reserve. The new cash reserve amount will be $$10,130,699 which is an increase of $2,000,000. Cash reserve will need to be a budget discussion item each year because the new reserve number is only 8.2% of the general fund operating expenditures.
Fund Balance - General Fund
The General Fund balance at July 1, 2020, was $10,416,518 which is an increase of $11,518 in comparison to the previous year. Fund balance is part of the calculation of property tax needed to balance the budget so the amount needed for 2020-21 budget remained approximately the same.
Employees
Lancaster County's total staffing for budget year 2020-21 increased to 886 full time equivalents (FTEs). FTEs increased by 8. The increase was due to new positions as well as additional overtime and on call increasing in certain areas.
New Positions:
- 3 new FTEs for centralized payroll team (County Clerk)
- IT Tech position for body camera program (County Sheriff)
- Patrol Division Deputy hired during FY19-20 (County Sheriff)
- 2 new positions paid with federal funds (Community Corrections)
3 largest Departments:
- Corrections - 229
- County Sheriff - 112
- County Engineer - 108
Property Tax Levy
Property Taxes are increasing by 2.79%. The total amount of property taxes for the proposed budget is $82,484,498.
The county tax levy will be 28.1576 cents which remains the same as last year.