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Rockdale County, Georgia Public Information Meeting August 5, 2009 Slide 2 General Fund Slide 3 Description2009 Budget2009 Actual as of July 2009 % Expensed Personal Services & Benefits $36,938,940$21,034,10757% Purchased & Contract Services 6,974,382 3,622,73752% Supplies 4,933,117 2,749,61356% Capital Outlay 237,126 86,48436% Indirect cost 5,850,601 3,128,19453% Total Expenditures 54,934,166 30,621,13556% Slide 4 Revenue:2009 Budget2009 Actual as of July 2009 % Realized Taxes$33,666,500 $6,631,46220% Licenses and permits 442,000 191,48043% Charges for services 3,096,380 1,481,38948% Fines and forfeitures 2,515,000 1,418,43756% Investment earnings 380,000 88,41023% Miscellaneous 365,000 265,45173% Other Financing Sources 14,469,286 5,202,47336% Total Revenue54,934,16615,279,10228% Slide 5 Slide 6 HTRG Credit The States Homestead Tax Relief Grant (HTRG) that funded an additional homestead exemption for homeowners for the past several years will not be available this year. Declining state revenues during the current recession means there is no money for the State to fund the tax relief grant to homeowners qualifying for a homestead exemption. This lack of a HTRG credit on the tax bill will mean an increase of $200 to $300 in the amount a homesteader will have to pay on the 2009 tax bill even though the total tax may have not increased from last year. The grant appropriated by the General Assembly and the Governor for the past several years to counties, cities and schools had given tax relief to qualifying homeowners in the form of a credit on their tax bills. According to legislation passed this year (House Bill 143), the grant will only be made available in the future if state revenues grow at least 3% plus the rate of inflation. Slide 7 HOST Credit Furthermore in Rockdale County, declining local sales tax revenue has impacted the countys Homestead Option Sales Tax (HOST) collections. In past years this one cent local sales tax funded capital improvements and a 100% rollback credit in the countys M & O portion of a residential propertys tax bill that was receiving a homestead exemption. Sales tax collections have plummeted over the past two years from $16.1 million in 2006 to $13.6 million in 2008. The amount of 2008 HOST collections required to grant a 100% rollback in 2009 is $16.9 million. Obviously, the HOST revenue falls short of that number by $3.3 million. State law does not allow the county to grant a HOST credit that exceeds the previous years HOST sales tax collections. Therefore, homestead properties will note a proportionate decrease in the HOST credit and possibly a corresponding increase in the net tax bill amount due. Important Notice to Homeowners Regarding 2009 Property Taxes Slide 8 Current Sales Tax Tax Property Tax Year Percent Year CollectionsYearHOST ExemptionHomesteadVariance 2005$14,661,0002006$11,183,000100%$3,478,000 2006$16,062,0002007$13,541,000100%$2,521,000 2007$14,883,0002008$14,128,000100%$755,000 2008$13,632,0002009$13,542,00080%$90,000 $16,927,000100%-$3,295,000 Current Year collections fund the following Tax Year HOST Exemption Variance are funds used for Capital Improvements Slide 9 Slide 10 Slide 11 Slide 12 Mid-year Budget Status Rockdale County, Georgia Public Information Meeting August 5, 2009