2009-10 Adopted Budget - City of Hoquiam

General Fund - #001The adjacent pages detail General Fund revenues and transfers in from other funds,budgeted to increase 8.6% from 2008 budgeted amounts. This is far higher than theannual average increase of 4.6% since 2000. The major reason for this increase inrevenue is an accounting change. Beginning in 2007, all general property tax revenuehas been receipted into the General Fund and then transferred out to other funds asneeded (e.g. Cemetery Fund, Street Fund, Unemployment Fund, Police and FirePension Fund). With this change, a consistent line item can be tracked showing totalgeneral property taxes rather than looking in up to five different funds for this answer.This analysis illustrates the changes in revenue growth by category over the past fiveyears. The graph entitled “Revenue History and Forecast” provides a visual review ofGeneral Fund revenues from 2000 though 2010.The 2009-2010 budget is predicated upon a one percent increase in the regularproperty tax levy. There are two charts entitled “Assessed Value and Levy LimitProjections” that show the details of the property tax levy for 2009 and 2010.The final pages of this section provide a detailed history of each General fund revenuesource from 2000 to the present. These pages indicate revenue trends by category andspecific histories of the City’s various general government revenue sources.Other major changes in revenue activity for 2009-2010 includes:Increased sales tax and B&O tax revenues. These key indicators of economicactivity in the City have seen a dramatic rise beginning in the spring of 2006.However, the current economic climate dictates caution especially when it comesto consumer spending. Therefore, sales tax is forecasted to decrease 8.4% frombudgeted 2008 levels to $694,445. B&O taxes are not as susceptible toconsumer spending and are forecasted to increase to $830,882. Both of theseforecasts are considered to be conservative and we anticipate exceeding thesetargets by the fiscal year end 2009Investment interest is budgeted to hold essentially flat from 2008 budgetedamounts of $115,000 to $120,000 in 2009. This is due to the rapid decrease ininterest rates even though the City has increased reserves on hand to invest.Total tax revenues will increase only 0.7% from $4,885,802 in 2008 to $4,918,629 in2009, driven primarily by an increase in B&O taxes. Additionally, as noted aboveeconomic activity has increased for the business community and the City is forecastingthis growth to continue in 2010. In 2010, total tax revenues are projected to increase2.7% over 20087 due to increased general property tax and electric utility tax fromelectric utility usage.42