PORT ANGELES — Lagging tax revenue and sagging investment interest put Clallam County behind the eight ball for first-quarter revenue.
As of March 31, revenue that comes through the county Treasurer’s Office — primarily property tax, sales tax, real estate excise tax and investment interest — was 13.6 percent of the amount budgeted, County Administrator Jim Jones told the three commissioners in a Monday briefing.
The Treasurer’s Office received $2.4 million of the $17.5 million it expects to receive in the first quarter.
Leading the trend was a precipitous drop in investment interest revenue, which Jones described as “just abysmal.”
In a month-to-month comparison, the county’s investment interest revenue totaled $26,509 in the first quarter, compared with the $168,322 it received in the first quarter of 2011, or the $541,685 from interest in the first quarter of 2008.
Clallam County received more than $2 million annually from investment interest in 2006, 2007 and 2008 before the federal government lowered interest rates.
“That money is not coming back,” Jones said.
“This is the single most significant problem with the general fund budget, is this two-and-a-half [million dollars] to $3 million that we would have been used to getting during the good times.
“It is not expected to be more than $500,000, at the most, this year.”
“It’s just money we have to learn to live without.”
Jones for years has warned of impending cuts to investment interest.
Meanwhile, property tax revenue in the first quarter was $965,803, or about 10 percent of last year’s total.
“We typically get about 55 percent of our [property tax] revenue at the end of April,” Jones said.
“A lot of people pay the full amount at the end of April.
“Sale tax revenue is a little worrisome.”
Total sales tax received in the first quarter was $965,803, compared to more than $1 million it received in the first quarter of 2011.
Sales tax revenue, which comes in 90 days after it is collected, was down 4 percent in January, 5 percent in February and 8 percent in March from the same months in 2011.
“That doesn’t bode well if things don’t pick up,” Jones said.
“Sales tax revenue is pretty weak. Same thing on real estate excise tax revenue.”
Real estate excise tax revenue was $472,234 in the first quarter, down 16 percent from the previous year.
Other highlights from the quarterly budget review show:
— First-quarter expenditures in the county’s general fund were $7.1 million, or 22.6 percent, of the 2012 budget.
— First-quarter revenues in the general fund were $5 million, or 15.9 percent, of the 2012 budget.
— First-quarter spending in the county’s total budget — the general fund plus other funds — was $12.6 million, or 15.9 percent, of the budgeted $79.3 million.
— First-quarter total revenues were $11.5 million, or 16.1 percent, of the budgeted $71.1 million.
“It’s still way to early to really be able to predict on how we’re doing,” Jones said.
“Most expenditures do tend to — because the majority of our expense is payroll — follow a monthly line, whereas the biggest chunk of our revenues don’t. They come in semi annually, i.e., all the taxes that we receive.”
Clallam County slashed 2012 spending by implementing 16 furlough days and laying off 15 employees.
There was no discussion of further layoffs, furloughs or cuts to customer service in the budget review, which was previously done on a semi-annual basis.
The only significantly over-budget item in the general fund was non-departmental indigent defense, which spent 50 percent of its budget in the first quarter alone.
“The rational for that is that our contract requires us to front-load this expenditure so that they can do the things they need to do in running their office,” Jones said.
“That does not mean that we’re going to spend more than what we budgeted. It’s exactly on track at this point.
“Although later in the year, should there be a significant number of, say, murder trials or things like that, there is an opportunity in the contract with indigent defense to ask for additional monies to support those trials for whatever they need.
“It just hasn’t happened yet.”
Commissioner Mike Chapman said: “The good news for the county in regards to sales tax is there will be a new car dealership online in the county collection.”
The county will share those collections with the city of Port Angeles because the dealership will be located in the Port Angeles Urban Growth Area.
“My takeaway is we probably need to be attentive to policies that will not tend to discourage or damage economic activity reflected in these revenue stats,” Commissioner Jim McEntire said.
Commissioners will discuss law and justice budgets and courthouse security in a special work session at 8:30 a.m. today.
The work session will be held in Room 160 at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
