|
Public Safety expenditures increased $4,098,200 or 12.8% due to the operating and staffing of a new Jail
<br />Housing Unit which opened during FY 11.
<br />Human Service expenditures decreased $2,909,602 or 7.1%. Major events that contributed to this
<br />decrease included State budget cuts to day care reimbursements and the State takeover of a portion of
<br />CAP (Community Alternative Program).
<br />Education expenditures decreased $41,642,773 or by 35 %. This major decrease was the result of three
<br />school construction projects at June 30, 2010 were approximately 95% completed. During FY 11 only 2
<br />additional schools were still under construction. The majority of expenditures for all school construction
<br />projects were experienced prior to June 30, 2011.
<br />Business -type activities
<br />The County's Business -type activity, the Landfill, experienced a $1,020,874 decrease or 44% decrease.
<br />A transfer to the County Closure /Post closure Liability reserve of $957,917 was made in FY 10 as
<br />estimated by the County's third party Engineers. No transfer was estimated and recommended by the
<br />Engineers in FY 11.
<br />Financial Analysis of the County's Funds
<br />As noted earlier, Cabarrus County uses fund accounting to ensure and demonstrate compliance with
<br />finance - related legal requirements. The County's four major funds, as defined by GAAP for the fiscal
<br />year ended June 30, 2011, were the General Fund, the Certificates of Participation 2009 Fund, the
<br />Qualified School Construction Bond Fund and the Landfill Fund, with the last fund being accounted for as
<br />an Enterprise Fund.
<br />Governmental Funds. The focus of Cabarrus County's governmental funds is to provide information on
<br />near -term inflows, outflows and balances of usable resources. Such information is useful in assessing
<br />Cabarrus County's financing requirements. Specifically, fund balance available for appropriation can be a
<br />useful measure of a government's net resources available for spending at the end of the fiscal year.
<br />The General Fund is the chief operating fund of Cabarrus County. At the end of the current fiscal year,
<br />Cabarrus County's fund balance available in the General Fund was $63,755,334, while total fund balance
<br />reached $74,013,411. The Governing Body of Cabarrus County has determined that the county should
<br />maintain an available fund balance of 15% of general fund expenditures in case of unforeseen needs or
<br />opportunities, in addition to meeting the cash flow of the County. The County currently has an available
<br />fund balance of 31.3% of general fund expenditures, while total fund balance represents 36.4% of that
<br />same amount. Of the $63,755,334 available fund balance, the County has assigned $16,955,100 (26.6 %)
<br />of their available fund balance for specific projects and obligations. Following the fund balance policy,
<br />$30,509,956 (47.9 %) of the available fund balance has been set aside for working capital. This leaves
<br />$16,290,278 (25.5 %) of fund balance remaining for appropriation.
<br />At June 30, 2011, the governmental funds of Cabarrus County reported a combined fund balance of
<br />$126,272,933, a 6.0% decrease or $8,008,475 decrease from last year.
<br />The General Fund balance increased $8,357,473. Property taxes are our largest revenue source. Though
<br />the collection rate slightly declined from the prior year, it remained relatively high, ending the year with a
<br />collection rate of 97.20 %. Due to conservative budgeting, property taxes revenue came in at $3,619,887
<br />or 2% over budget. The most significant variance was in the collection of delinquent taxes.
<br />Cabarrus County is home to the number one tourist attraction in North Carolina which is Concord Mills
<br />Mall. In FY2010, sales taxes were collected in excess of anticipated amounts; however in FY2011 sales
<br />tax revenues came in at $1,065,646 or 3.9% less than budgeted. The decline in the sales tax revenue is
<br />attributed to the decrease in retail sales as the economy continues to wane and an increasing number of
<br />sales tax refunds that the County made to companies obtaining non - profit status.
<br />Permits and Fees are primarily collected by the Register of Deeds for the recording and dissemination of
<br />records and by Commerce for inspection fees related to construction standards. The economy continued
<br />20 Attachment number 1
<br />1 -3 Page 140
<br />
|