Municipal Service Fund
The purpose of the Municipal Service Fund is to account for the various municipal services, including Planning & Development, Code Enforcement, Animal Services, Emergency Services, Engineering Services, and Natural Resources Regulation that are provided in the unincorporated areas of the County.
The Municipal Service Fund budget is $51,504,687 in FY 2024.
Revenues
Major revenues for the Municipal Service Fund include:
Transfers In
The Municipal Service Fund and the General Fund share the proceeds from a number of revenue sources. These include half-cent sales tax and State-shared revenue (the County receives a portion of cigarette tax, sales tax, and use taxes).
Other Taxes
The County charges a 1.86% tax on devices for communications, such as telephones and fax machines. The proceeds from the Communications Services Tax are used to fund the County’s 911 Emergency Communications Center. The FY 2024 Communications Services Tax revenue increased $244,586 compared to FY 2023.
Miscellaneous Revenues
The County charges a fee for services when the benefit of the service accrues to an individual rather than the community. This revenue source has decreased by $2,268,131 from the FY 2023 Adopted Budget. This revenue source includes Fund Balance, which is the majority of the decrease. Fund Balance Revenues account for 16.6% of total revenues for FY 2024 with a balance at $8,543,175.
Charges for Service
This revenue source includes proceeds from fees of services provided by both the Development and Public Services Branches, such as commercial and residential site inspections, as well as animal adoptions. These decreased by $739,300 from the FY 2023 Adopted Budget.
Expenditures
Major expenses in the Municipal Service Fund include:
Development Services
Development Services' divisions and programs funded within the Municipal Service Fund include Code Enforcement, Current and Long-Range Planning, Administration, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Internal Services
The Internal Services portion of the Municipal Service Fund consists of a portion of the 911 Emergency Services.
Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure includes Engineering Services which is funded with this fund, such as Survey, Real Estate, Administration, Engineering Inspections, and Project Management.
Public Services
The Public Services Branch lines of business that live in the Municipal Service Fund include the following: the Animal Services Department and the Natural Resource Regulation division within the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Department.
Public Safety
The Public Safety portion of the Municipal Service Fund consists of half of Fire Rescue Administration and the portion of Emergency Services expenditures that are not in the 911 Emergency Services Fund.
Legislative/Administrative
Other Expenditures include expenses related to the Office of Performance Management, Media Relations and Communication.
Reserves
Reserves are the portion of fund balance that is legally segregated for specific purposes. The Board of County Commissioners has adopted a financial policy that the Municipal Service Fund reserves an amount equal to 16.7% of budgeted expenditures. This is known as the Committed Reserve. These funds are set aside so that in case of an emergency, the County can continue to conduct operations. The Municipal Service Fund has a projected FY 2024 ending fund balance of $7,583,711.