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1'94 4 i~ January 13, 1976 MEMO TO: Orange County Board of Cpmmi.ssioners FROM: Neal Evans, Finance Director SIIBJECT: Revenue & Expenditure Report- Decexnber'31, 1975 Attached are Financial Reports £or various Orange County Funds as of December 31, 1975, The general picture is that both expenditures and revenues aze~'very close -~ to expectations, although the most significatt revenue, item, the current property tax, is still an unknown quantity. The majarity.of this tax is received in the final days of December aad is not processed until January. P'IQ tax revenues are shown for December. Consequently the extent of the fiscal health of the county will not be known in full until the January tax reForts are completed. FUND BALANCES Unappropriated fund balance, that is, the excess pf actual over anticipated fund balances at June 30, 1975, is probably the most significant weakness identified on the report. This should be measured in connectipn with excess revenues, under expenditures', and available contingencies. The four items added together form a pool of Funds that can serve several purposes. First, it can provide for "emergencies" should these azise; second, it can provide a needed cash flow, in the case of Orange County, for the early months of the next Fiscal .year; it can provide an elastic buffer for a consistent tax rate policy; and it presents an indicator of the quality of financial planning and management to the state and national bond markets: The weakness with the current fund balance; is that, in conjunction with a budget that was estimated so tightly and a contingency fund that has been depleted, there is no pool of Funds for any o£ the abpve purposes. Our Auditors advised an effort to increase this pppl, and recommended a tax increase if we intend to continue the current level o£ spending. REVENUES Revenues have been very close to estimates. The year's total Zn.tangible and Beer and Wine Taxes have been received and both did not make it to 100, There is a significant shortage in court related fees: officer fees in the General Fund and fines and forfeitures in the Current Expens2.Fund. Delinquent taxes and late list charges should exceed estimates, and if current trends con- tinue building permits and register's fees will be up, both indicators of possible economic upswing in the county. Sales taxes are very close to the line and very dependent upon December collections far an adequate year, zn Social Services, chore service revenues are npw included in State Aid to Administration which explains the D.0~ in the former and 50.3 in the latter, Tne general level of Social services revenues is tied directly to expenditures which to date have been low, There is no loss to the county from decreased revenues for Social Services since expenditures have been lower than anticipated.