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of Participation 2009 Fund, and the Landfill Fund, with the last fund being accounted for as an Enterprise
<br />Fund.
<br />At June 30, 2010, the governmental funds of Cabarrus County reported a combined fund balance of
<br />$134,281,408, a 7.9% increase or $9,857,423 increase from last year.
<br />The General Fund balance increased $14,317,145. Due to conservative budgeting, property taxes, our
<br />largest source of revenue was collected at a collection rate of 97.45% resulting in an amount of
<br />$2,195,601 over budget. Sales tax continued to be collected in excess of anticipated amounts resulting in
<br />a $825,368 collection over budget. Cabarrus County is home to the number one tourist attraction in North
<br />Carolina which is Concord Mills a Shopping Center. Sales continue to do well at this establishment
<br />therefore increasing the amount of Sales Tax distributed to the County. Due to harsh economic times,
<br />Register of Deeds and Building Inspection fees were not expected to rebound until several years into the
<br />future. However, Cabarrus County's permits and fees collections were $1,062,794 more than anticipated
<br />when the budget was adopted. The General Fund also received $1,961,156 of transfers that were not
<br />budgeted. During the fiscal year, two financed construction projects were completed and the remaining
<br />funds for the projects were transferred to the General Fund to be available for future debt service
<br />payment. The General Fund Expenditures also reflected some unanticipated results. All departments
<br />were asked to cut back on their spending. With these cut backs, General Fund expenditures were
<br />$7,720,411 under budget. A management decision was made not to make a $2,864,651 budgeted
<br />transfer to the Capital Reserve Fund based on the uncertain economic times.
<br />The Justice Center Construction Fund balance decreased $29,975,941. The Certificates of Participation
<br />for this project were issued in previous fiscal years and capitalized construction expenditures of
<br />$27,253,045 were expended during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. This fund is being used to
<br />record the construction of a Jail Annex, Sheriffs Administration Building, and a Jail Housing Unit.
<br />The Certificates of Participation 2009 Fund balance increased $41,087,104. Certificates of Participation
<br />were issued during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010 in the amount of $85,170,000 for the construction
<br />of four schools and the renovation and wing addition at a fifth school. This project will span over several
<br />years. For this first fiscal year, $55,862,337 has been expensed towards these school projects.
<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, unreserved fund balance can be a useful
<br />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 />unreserved fund balance of the General Fund was $54,436,158, while total fund balance reached
<br />$65,655,938. As a measure of the general fund's liquidity, it may be useful to compare both unreserved
<br />fund balance and total fund balance to total fund expenditures. Unreserved fund balance represents
<br />28.61 percent of total General Fund expenditures, while total fund balance represents 34.51 percent of
<br />that same amount.
<br />General Fund Budgetary Highlights: During the fiscal year, the County revised the budget on several
<br />occasions. Generally, budget amendments fall into one of three categories: 1) amendments made to
<br />adjust the estimates that are used to prepare the original budget ordinance once exact information is
<br />available; 2) amendments made to recognize new funding amounts from external sources, such as
<br />Federal and State grants; and 3) increases in appropriations that become necessary to maintain services.
<br />Total amendments to the General Fund's budget amounted to an increase of $6,617,538.
<br />Major budget increases (decreases) during the year include:
<br />• Contribution from COPS - a transfer from the 2009 COPS Capital Projects Funds was made to
<br />fund debt service payments for school construction in the General Fund -- $1,818,515
<br />Contribution to Internal Service Funds — a transfer from the General Fund to the Workers
<br />Compensation and Self- Insurance Funds was completed to maintain the financial integrity of
<br />those funds. - $2,000,000.
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