A ramble through city finances
halfway into fiscal year 2006-07
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
An amateur ramble through the city's monthly financial report halfway through its fiscal year:
At the midway point, revenues are running more than $4.5 million, or 6.8 percent, behind revenues in FY 2005-06. Room tax in the city and the police jurisdiction is particularly weak, dropping 27 percent in the city and 29.2 percent in the police jurisdiction, Hurricane Katrina being a likely explanation.
Tobacco taxes are down 4.5 percent in the city but up 21.3 percent in the police jurisdiction where folks are apparently nervously smoking up a storm worrying about annexation.
Total fines and forfeitures are up 20.6 percent with monies from a drivers education program up almost 102 percent. Investment from idle funds is up 123.9 percent from $408,702 last year to $915,727 so far this year.
On the expenditure side, legal department spending is down $174,677 or 26.1 percent from the previous year. Administrative services is up 206.7 percent from $27,856 to $85,446.
In public works, the cost of administration is up 41 percent from $348,287 to $491,235. Solid waste expenses are down 31.9 percent or $609,708 from $1,911,880 to $1,302,172.
In Culture and Recreation, total spending is up 8.4 percent or $5,058,610 to $5,484,449.
Reserve fund for retirements is stronger, up 103.4 percent from $599,090 to $1,218,636.
Under mandated activities, contributions to the personnel board is up 33.9 percent or $141,441 from $417,0896 to $558,527. Juvenile court and youth center expenditures are up as well by 14.5 percent rising from $832,670 to $953,679
In employee costs, workman's compensation fell 19 percent from $919,571 to $744,628. Unemployment compensation was up more than 102 percent from $21,004 to $42,452.
The cost of property/fire insurance dropped 57.9 percent from $279,896 to $117,894.
In the 'transfers' category, money sent to the transit system for the first half of the fiscal year was down almost 15 percent from $4,343,028 to $3,695,131. Transfers to the civic center were up 32.4 percent to $497,728 from $375,878. Transfer to the liability insurance fund were up 32.3 percent to $857,882 from $648,570.
Under the general government category, expenditures relative to budget, were 17.4 percent under projections. Almost $8.35 million was budgeted and almost $6.9 was spent. General government departments particularly under budget at the halfway point of FY2006-07 were administrative services, legal, City Hall overhead, municipal information system and the mayor's office.
Overall public works expenditures were running 12.8 percent behind budget projections with actual expenditures at just over $16 million against a budgeted figure of $18.4 million.
Under culture and recreation, expenditures were 8.4 percent less than the budgeted amount of just over $6 million.
Finance department expenditures trailed the budgeted figure of $70.4 million by 4.7 percent.
The budget called for the city to transfer $1.67 million to the transit system but almost $3.7 million was actually transferred, representing a budget-busting variance of more than $2 million or 121.3 percent. Budgeted transfers of $1.25 million to the liability insurance fund were projected but only $857,882 was actually transferred, a shortfall from expectations of 31.4 percent.
In the motor pool, the city had total operating expenses and encumbrances totaling $2,668,250 against a budgeted figure of $4,273,491.
Azalea City Golf Course lost $93,392 over the first half of FY2006-07 compared to a loss of $82,074 during the first half of the previous fiscal year. Greens fees and cart fees were actually up, however. Against the budget, revenues were up 4.8 percent at Azalea City and expenditures were down a whopping 36.5 percent against the budget, from a $1,323,664 projection to $840,665 in actual expenses.
The city's fire medics did a lot more traveling this year over last year, jumping 2,332.9 percent from a measly $477 to $11,604 for travel and conferences.
The loss at the municipal parking garage is up 69.3 percent over last year. Last year's loss at the halfway mark was $45,617 compared to this year's loss thus far of $77,227.
At the tennis center, revenues were up 6.6 percent to $30,459 against expenditures of $245,928 for a net operating loss of $215,469. Transfers of $223,681 from the general fund kept the balls bouncing at the tennis center. Revenues at the tennis center were off 12.6 percent from budget projections. Expenses ran 4.1 percent less than the budget called for.
Transfers from the general fund to the Mobile Convention Center totaled $1,055,495 thus far in the fiscal year compared to $946,585 last year, a boost of 11.5 percent. Another $75,000 has been transferred to the convention center this year from the capital improvements fund. General obligation warrants were down 16.7 percent this year, $1.8 million against $2.16 in the previous fiscal year.
The city's room tax year to date is down 27 percent from $854,429 in FY 2005-06 to $623,341 this year. Total operating expenses have risen $188,282 or 5 percent last year to this from $3.75 million to $3.94 million.
Room tax revenues were actually up 8.7 percent over budget projections at $623,341 versus a budget projection of $573,600. Again, Hurricane Katrina skewed the numbers so that a year-to-date comparision between the fiscal years has little relevance.
The convention center showed a net operating loss of $213,921, far better than the projected loss of $1,367,457. After transfers, the loss of $883,426 was $1,153,536 or 56.6 percent better than expected.
