County downsizes revenue projections

San Juan County is expecting a bit of a boost to its bottom line, but not enough to cancel out a nagging shortfall in anticipated revenue or to stave off another round of workforce reductions.

On Tuesday, the county’s administrative team will offer for tentative approval by the county council a series of 2011 budget amendments that together either eliminate or trim the hours of slightly more than six full-time positions, and that reduce spending from the county’s general fund by about $314,000. That’s in spite of a recent uptick in building permit fees and sales tax receipts, according to Deputy Administrator David Kelley.

“Sales tax was up 38 percent in July compared to what we had a year ago,” Kelley said. “It’s not just here. In talking with the (state) Department of Revenue they said that sales tax was up in July across the state. And Rene Beliveau (building official) said that July was the best month that we’ve had in the last 18.”

Still, recent gains won’t make up for the lack of anticipated revenue that failed to materialize over the first six months of the year. The amendments include a $423,000 scale-back in revenue anticipated to be generated by the Community Development and Planning Department, and a $182,000 reduction in expected sales tax receipts for the year.

Kelley said the amendments will help offset a projected revenue deficit of roughly $620,000 for the remainder of 2011. The amendments will also include, he noted, a total of nearly $315,000 in unanticipated revenue that includes $110,530 in state reimbursements for local court costs and $100,000 in combined penalties and interest generated by removal of 18 parcels from the county’s “current use” property tax break programs.

County payroll expenses have been whittled down by roughly 14 percent over the past three years. Kelley said that by reducing spending through additional job cuts, county officials hope to lessen the pressure on the general fund in the coming year and avoid tapping into its “operating cash”, or reserves, which, at $1.3 million, is equivalent to 10 percent of the county current portion of the 2011 general fund.

“If we didn’t [make reductions], we’d be dipping into that 10 percent,” Kelley said. “And we don’t want to do that.”

The 2011 budget amendments include: elimination of an accounting position in the auditor’s office, and one job in the community development and planning department; a delay in hiring two deputies and dispatcher; a $10,000 reduction in the hearing examiner budget, leaving a part-time public health post vacant and a 10 percent reduction in juvenile court personnel hours.

The county began the year with a “current” fund totaling $13.7 million in budgeted revenue and expenses, and another $2.6 million in state and federal grants, for a $16.3 million general fund overall. That fund covers the bulk of daily expenses for 24 distinct departments, including payroll. Combined with various other county funds, such as roads ($8 million), land bank ($3.9 million), equipment rental ($3.8 million), bond redemption ($3 million) and solid waste ($2.6 million) the overall county budget totaled $47.3 million.

County cashes in on ‘current use’ clamp down

San Juan County officials are banking on roughly $100,000 in interest, penalties and back taxes following a recent crack down on the county’s “current-use” property-tax break programs.

And that’s just for starters, according to Assessor Charles Zalmanek, who said a total of 18 parcels, and nearly a dozen land owners, have already been “affected” financially by removal of their property from various county current-use programs.

“And there’s more in the works,” Zalmanek said.

Authorized under state law, current-use programs, such as Farm and Agricultural Land or Designated Forest Land, provide tax breaks for land owners who manage their property in a way that creates a “public benefit”.

When land is no longer managed under the criteria by which a property initially qualified for its lowered assessed value, Zalmanek said that it deserves, by law, to be assessed at its “highest and best” value.

“It’s not about the money or extra revenue for the county,” he said. “It’s about fairness and equitably for the taxpayers of San Juan County.”

Properties removed so far from the current-use programs include six from farm and agriculture., two from designated forest land, and one from timber and one from the open-space category.

Treasurer Jan Sears said the county’s general fund is the sole recipient of the interest and penalties owed by affected property owners by virtue of a recent change in state law. She said the county isn’t the only beneficiary, however, as the recent removal of those 18 parcels will add nearly $270,000 of revenue into the property-tax equation that’s divided across all the junior taxing districts and their individual property tax levies.