Just a few short months ago, Prince William County supervisors were debating solutions to what Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart described as “probably the toughest budget this board has faced in 25 years É or so.”
This week, they’ll have a different kind of “problem” to deal with — $4.5 million in general revenue funds in excess of budget estimates for the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Still, Stewart wasn’t kidding. The board made significant cuts across the board and raised the real property tax rate from $0.97 to $1.212 per $100 of assessed value to address a projected shortfall of nearly $200 million for fiscal 2010. But better-than-projected revenues from real estate taxes, personal property taxes and investment income helped buoy the county over revenue estimates for fiscal 2009.
In a memo to county supervisors, Budget Director David Tyerar and Finance Director Christopher Martino recommended contributing $4.3 million of the total to the general fund to maintain an undesignated fund balance of 7.5 percent of general fund revenues — a major factor agencies examine to determine bond ratings. They also recommend that about $155,000 be added to the county’s Revenue Stabilization Reserve.
The revenue surplus was $1.2 million more than the $3.3 million figure projected in April.
“The projected surplus was due to increases in real estate taxes, personal property taxes, sales and investment income. Revenue increases from these sources were partially offset by declines in sales tax, communications tax, and the consumer utility tax,” Martino wrote in his quarterly financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.
Though real estate assessments in the county plummeted by an average of 30 percent from 2008, real estate tax revenue was actually $2.6 million more than in the adopted budget for fiscal 2009.
“The revenue surplus is attributed to more supplemental assessments and penalty revenue and fewer real estate exonerations and tax deferrals than originally anticipated,” Martino wrote.
Personal property tax revenue was also up $3.4 million over projections because of increased vehicle and personal property business, the collection of unpaid personal property taxes, and penalty revenue, Martino wrote.
Sales tax and communications tax revenue ended up slightly lower than projected in the adopted 2009 budget.
