Agenda 02-20-24; 12-4 - Information Item - Memorandum - Financial Report - Second Quarter FY 2023-24

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3 is the property tax billing and collection rate; the billing collection rate is currently 97% as compared to 96.5%the prior fiscal year. The final collection rate is projected to be consistent with the budgeted amount of 99.2%for real and personal property. • Motor vehicles taxes which is a sub-category in the Property Tax category in the table above are 52.6% of the Motor Vehicle budget as compared to 55.3% in the prior fiscal year. The budgeted amount is projected to be achieved here as well. The State remits this tax to the County monthly. Motor vehicle taxes are payable on the vehicle renewal date and the tax is based on the market value of the vehicle. FY 2023-24 Motor Vehicles are $6.7 million as compared to $6.3 million the prior fiscal year. • Sales Tax for Articles 39, 40, 42 and Hold Harmless amounts are recorded in the General Fund. The year- to-date sales tax has increased by 4% compared to the same period last year. This is a marked difference from the 22% increase in the same period from the prior fiscal year. This slower rate of growth was factored into the budget and attributed to reduced inflation. It is important to notate the three-month lag in collections; the second quarter report only accounts for three months of sales tax collections, this lag was illustrated in the first quarter report. • Charges for services are 40.6% of the budget as compared to 48.2%the prior fiscal year. Two key revenue sources in this category are Emergency Charges and Register of Deeds Excise Stamps. This percent decline is attributed primarily to Emergency Medical Charges (Ambulance billings). Emergency Medical Charges. Emergency Medical Charges collections are $2 million or 38.6% of budget as compared to $2.9 million or 77.6% the prior fiscal year. Staff is in discussion with the Tax Office and Emergency Services to determine how much of this decline is due to timing versus performance, and requisite corrective actions. Excise Stamps (Real Estate Transfers). Excise Stamps have decreased to $718,598 or 56% of the budget compared to $792, 259 or 45.3% of the budget through the second quarter in the prior fiscal year. These real estate transfers are recorded each month and they reflect the number of real estate transactions and sales. • Investment Earning returns to date are $482,386 compared to $397,742 the prior year. The County's investment policy emphasizes Safety, Liquidity and Yield in that priority order. The investment portfolio consist primarily of U.S. Treasuries, Federal Agencies, and Overnight Repurchase Agreements which are all highly rated securities and comply with the North Carolina Permitted Investments statutes. The investment portfolio is currently yielding 5.25%, which is consistent with the prior fiscal year. The higher idle cash balances have been invested in the aforementioned securities to meet the projected budget. 3