2012-051A - Laserfiche WebLink

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Indian River County is a non -charter county established under the Constitution and the Laws of the State of Florida. This Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) includes the funds of the primary government (the Board of County Commissioners, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, the Property Appraiser, the Sheriff, the Supervisor of Elections and the Tax Collector), and the blended component units consisting of the Emergency Services District and the Solid Waste Disposal District. These component units were included because generally accepted accounting principles require that organizations for which the County is financially accountable and that financially benefit from the relationship with the County be reported with the primary government (the County) as the reporting entity. This CAFR does not include the Indian River County School District, the Indian River County Mosquito Control District or the Indian River Medical Center. Local Economy The effects of the decline in the national economy continued to affect Indian River County in 2011. Property tax values decreased 10% from $15.8 billion in 2010 to $14.1 billion in 2011. Construction activity increased 6% over 2010 and is the second consecutive year of positive growth since the peak activity in 2005 as illustrated in Statistical Schedule 19. Indian River County's population increased by approximately 666 residents or less than 1%; however, the unemployment rate decreased from to 15.4% in 2010 to 13.7% in 2011. Indian River County is a major producer of citrus in the state with approximately 11.3% of total County acreage dedicated to citrus production. Citrus production increased slightly from 9.6 million boxes in 2010 to 10.2 million in 2011. Lona Term Financial Planning Continuing to maintain a high quality level of service for the taxpayers has been a challenge due to the reduced tax roll and other declining revenues. County departments, Constitutional Officers, state agencies and nonprofit organizations have trimmed their budgets to account for these declines. In some funds, a moderate amount of reserves are used to balance the budget which may result in long-term implications. The reserves will need to be maintained at appropriate levels to sustain the County's financial position. Continual decline in revenues or additional expenses may require adjustments to be made such as staff reductions, health insurance changes, furloughs or other necessary measures. Vacant positions have been eliminated wherever possible in order to reduce the impact on existing employees. There have also been hiring freezes, decreases in cost of living raises, merit raises and top - out pay for current employees as well as reductions in automobile allowance and the number of employees receiving the allowance. Over the last five years, there has been a 12.7% reduction in County staff. The current staffing levels are now lower than those in FY 2001-2002, however, the population served has increased by 17.4% and the services provided have also increased. Listed below are some other measures that were taken to reduce the budget's financial burdens: ➢ In January 2011, the Board of County Commissioners approved the privatization of the primary operations of the landfill and the customer convenience centers at a cost savings of approximately $400,000 per year. Thirty four positions were eliminated mid -year due to this privatization. ii