Complete Document - City of Auburn

City of AuburnFinancial Overviewfor FY02 represented a 74.2% increase overthe same revenue source for FY93.Similarly, occupation license fee revenue hasgrown an average of almost 8.9% per year.All persons employed within the City ofAuburn are subject to the 1% occupationlicense fee, which is withheld from wages andremitted to the City by employers. Thesecond largest General Fund revenuesource, occupation license fee revenue forFY02 was 79.8% of that for FY93.The increase in business license fee revenuehas been even more robust: an average ofnearly 9.8% per year since 1993 and anincrease in the FY02 revenue over FY93 of88.0%. The City’s business license feestructure was revised in FY 99 to provide amore equitable business license feestructure. Most business license fees arecalculated as a percentage of the business’gross receipts for the prior calendar year, soincreasing business license fees representsgrowth in Auburn’s economy.$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$-1993 1995 1997 1999 2001Sales tax Occupation license Business licenseService charges for solid waste collection arethe fourth largest revenue source in the City’sGeneral Fund, comprising about 6.6% of totalrevenue. Revenue from solid waste fees hasincreased 8.5% on average over the past tenyears. The FY 02 solid waste fee revenuerepresents a 76.1% increase over FY 93, inspite of the City’s offering a lower servicelevel for a lower fee. This lower service levelwas first offered in limited areas in FY 97, andwas first offered in all areas of the City inFY00. Except in certain areas, where thelower service level is required, citizens maychoose the service level they desire.Historically, solid waste collection feerevenues have not been sufficient to financethe total cost of providing services. In order toreduce the amount of General Fund revenuesthat are used to subsidize the solid wasteservices, the Environmental ServicesDepartment has developed several programsdesigned to increase the efficiency of theresources used in the solid waste collectionactivities. These programs have resulted inreduced overtime expenses as well asreduced costs to acquire, operate andmaintain the department’s equipment.Management anticipates that direct costs ofsolid waste collection will be fully funded fromsolid waste collection fees by FY 05.Property taxes are the fifth largest GeneralFund revenue source, providing about 6.5%of total revenue in the General Fund. TheState purchases all property for which the advalorem taxes are not paid, for the amount ofthe unpaid property taxes. So, the City’sproperty taxes are collected at 100% of taxesbilled.The State conducts a reappraisal of all realproperty every three years, allowing theincreases in appraised values to be reflectedin the City’s property tax revenue. Propertytax revenue is also affected by annexations ofproperty into the City, which are frequentlyrequested to give property owners access tothe City school system. Property tax revenuegrowth has averaged 10.7% per fiscal yearsince 1993; and the FY02 revenue from thissource was almost double the amount in FY93.Total revenues of the General Fund,excluding other financing sources, exhibit asolid growth trend similar to the top fivesources. Total revenues increased anaverage of 8.8% per year since 1993. The FY02 total revenue amount increased 179%since FY 93.38