Whitfield County general fund financials from October indicate the local government’s year-to-date (YTD) revenues outpaced collection projections by more than 15%.
“YTD actual revenues of $33,947,682 were greater than the projected revenues of $29,461,597 by $4,486,085,” county documents read.
A major factor in that uptick is accrued taxes. The county government projected about $18.8 million in such revenues by the end of October. The actual figure came in at $21.1 million.
That’s also a considerable increase compared to data from last year. At the end of October 2022, the county government’s accrued taxes revenues was listed as about $19.2 million.
The biggest driver of the uptick in tax revenues is clearly the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST).
“October collections of $1,293,604 were 16.78% greater than budgeted collections of $1,106,858,” county documents read. “This was 1.98% more than September collections of $1,268,476. YTD collections of $12,723,113 were 6.49% greater than (previous year) collections of $11,947,741 for the same time frame.”
County documents note that the YTD LOST collections as of October 2023 do include a one-time payment of $577,772 for unpaid taxes since September 2022.
License and permit revenues were also up substantially from the county’s initial projections.
While $613,567 in collections was anticipated from that stream, by Oct. 31 the county government had collected $1,257,252 so far in the fiscal year.
The same time last year, the county’s YTD license and permit revenues were just $797,190.
Investment income also beat projections. $250,000 in YTD revenues was anticipated; by the end of October, $933,053 had actually been collected.
At the end of October 2022, the total YTD investment income stood at just $110,951.
On the flip side of the equation, October 2023 data indicate the county’s YTD expenditures exceeded projections by roughly $350,000.
“YTD actual expenditures of $44,819,678 were greater than projected expenditure of $44,468,007,” county documents read. “Or 0.79%.”
Actual general government spending for the county government is listed at $8,954,577. About $8.79 million in such expenditures were projected for that point in the ongoing fiscal year.
Judicial spending, as of October 2023, was lower than forecast. About $6.2 million in spending was projected; just $5.98 million had been spent by Oct. 31.
YTD public works spending, projected at about $5.4 million, actually came in at about $4.9 million at the end of October.
Also coming in below projections was YTD housing and development expenditures — penciled in at $2.17 million, but with an actual of $1.74 million.
At $18,824,286 in actual expenditures, public safety spending eclipsed projections by well over $1.2 million.
YTD sheriff’s office spending, projected at about $7.6 million, actually came in at $8.1 million.
YTD correctional facility spending, expected to be about $9 million, was listed at about $9.7 million at the end of October.
Heading into November, that left the county government with $10,871,996 more in YTD expenditures than YTD revenues.
Unassigned YTD fund balance projections were listed at about $17.8 million. At the end of October, the YTD fund balance actual was modified to about $21.9 million.