07/16/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Constitutional gas taxes are decreasing for next fiscal year by $17,578 or (1.1 %). County gas tax also sees a decrease of $1,978 or (0.3%). Transfers from the General Fund and M.S.T.U. will account for 59.2% of total revenues next year compared to 56.6% for the current year. Emergency Services District Fund The total budget proposed for next fiscal year is $27,817,122, an increase of $720,432 or 2.7% (page 35). A summary of the major impacts on the Emergency Services District is provided as follows: • Taxroll change — up 4.9%, $1.0 million additional revenues • Additional 0.65 FTE positions - $49,955 estimated increase • Fund balance — phase out usage $500,000 impact • Replacement capital equipment - $499,000 budgeted (ambulance, lifepacks, etc.) An additional 0.65 FTE position is needed due to the retirement of the Emergency Operations Assistant Chief as mentioned previously. Staff recommends that the County fund a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator in the General Fund and a Battalion Chief in the Emergency Services District to serve as the Fire Marshal and supervise the fire inspection activities of the department. This will result in an additional cost of $49,955 for the District. The proposed District budget includes funding for replacement capital including rolling stock such as fire engines and ambulances following a five year plan approved in February 2014. Funding in the amount of $775,000 has been allocated from Optional Sales Tax in order to reduce the impact on ad valorem taxes. Staff recommends a transition away from the use of Optional Sales Tax over the next four (4) years, similar to the plan for replacement Sheriff's vehicles discussed under the General Fund section. The District budget also includes funding for 7 replacement Lifepack units as part of the plan previously approved by the Board. For the last few years, the Emergency Services District budget has utilized reserves to balance the budget. This practice was not in accordance with the County's fund balance policy or recommended best practices. Last year, the County began a two-year phase-out of this practice. The current year budget utilized $500,000 in reserves, and the proposed budget is structurally balanced without the planned use of reserves. This move is necessary to ensure the long-term financial health of the District. Based on the preliminary roll, the total assessed value increased by 4.9% compared to a 1.4% increase last year. New construction provides an increase of 1.5%, while the change in existing values is 3.4%. The taxroll increase provides $1.0 million in additional revenues at the same millage rate. The proposed millage rate of 1.9799 is equal to the current rate. This represents a 3.4% increase above the rollback rate. 2