Agenda - 02-12-2009 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 Revenue Office has collected about 98% of total budget or $115.4 million as of February 9, 2009. The encouraging news is that real property tax bills are being paid. Delinquent notices have been mailed and public advertisements of delinquencies are scheduled for print in newspapers this month. Garnishment of wages will begin soon. ii) Motor Vehicle Property Taxes — Motor vehicle property tax collections to- date are on target with where the County should be, at this time of the year. As mentioned during the Board's retreat in early January, one area to highlight is motor vehicle valuations. As economic conditions continue to worsen, many people are trading larger, more expensive vehicles for smaller, less expensive ones. This may become a more prominent factor in preparing the FY 2009-10 budget. Staff closely monitors these numbers monthly and will provide additional information to the Board as it becomes available. iii) Sales Taxes — To date, the County has received four months of sales tax receipts for the current year - August through November 2008. Out of an $18.8 million budget, the County has received $6.3 million or 33.7%. As a point of comparison, after four months, the target collection point is 33.3%. Sales tax receipts anticipated in February and March 2009 will reflect recent holiday sales activity. The State has not published the February report as of the printing of this agenda. Staff anticipates these numbers will be available to report at the February 12 work session. iv) Land Transfer/Construction Related Revenues — These revenues include Register of Deeds fees along with Planning/Inspections/Environmental Health permit revenues. There is an evident slowing trend in this revenue area — particularly in the area of land/property transfer related revenues. This is indicative of a slowing housing market. As a point of reference, of the $1.8 million budgeted for Register of Deeds fees, the County has collected about $672,000 or just over 37% of total budget through February 9, 2009. In the area of construction related revenues such as building permits and inspections, the County has received about $496,000 of the total $1.2 million budgeted (through February 9, 2009). b) Expenditures — Overall expenditures are on target with where they should be at this point in the fiscal year. In September 2008, the County Manager put into place a number of budget directives for the current fiscal year. The intent of this precautionary measure action was to ensure that at year-end County expenditures did not exceed anticipated revenue collections. The list below outlines current year budget directives and guidance the Manager has issued to date: O Continuing the County's 3-month hiring delay O Reserving 2% of budgeted operating expenditures