AG 2016 12 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

allocated based on the proportion of total property value accounted for by each land use category. This "default"breakdown of assessed property valuation for 2007 was 75.3% residential, 23.7% commercial, and 1.0% agricultural. The expenditures of most of the county's general government departments were allocated in this manner. Revenues were handled in a manner similar to expenditures. Property tax revenues were allocated to specific land use categories based on the 2007 property assessments. Taxes and other revenue sources that are linked directly to commercial activities—for example, Article 39 sales taxes and cable TV franchise fees—were allocated exclusively to the commercial sector. Revenues from sources associated exclusively with households (such as animal control revenues) were allocated to the residential sector. Revenues raised by specific county government departments from fees charged for services or from inter-governmental transfers were allocated in direct proportion to the allocation of expenditures by those departments, unless respondents indicated otherwise. Any remaining revenues that could not be directly allocated in these ways were allocated according to the proportion of total property value accounted for by each land use category. Results A detailed breakdown of revenues sources is found in Appendix Table 1. Total county general fund revenues for 2006-2007 were $183.1 million. About 61.2% of this money came from ad valorem property taxes. Another 21.6% came from sales taxes. Most of the remainder (12.5%) came from fees for services and licenses, while the remaining 4.7% came from other miscellaneous sources (mainly investment earnings and state and federal grants). Table 1 summarizes the overall breakdown of county expenditures for the 2006-2007 fiscal year(more detailed information is found in Appendix Table 2). Of note is the fact that Gaston County ran a significant budget surplus of over$55 million in that year. This money was transferred out of the general fund into other funds for future uses—which, it was assumed, 4 The state distributes Article 39 sales tax revenues back to counties on a point-of-sale basis. Article 40 and 42 sales taxes are distributed back to counties based on county population;revenues from these sources were allocated to residential land uses. Article 44 sales taxes are distributed to counties in part on the basis of point of sale and in part on the basis of county population;accordingly,these were allocated to residential and commercial land uses on a 50- 50 basis. 4 G-4 Page 247