COM 0151.000 2008-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Honorable Chairman J Yoshimoto and Members of the County Council Page 2 February 27, 2009 identified by department directors. Additional reductions were made by eliminating or reducing funding for expansion of the police fleet, transfers to reserve accounts, Council contingency funds, and several other programs. I imposed a temporary hiring suspension at the beginning of my administration and we are currently holding 481 positions vacant. This budget eliminates funding for 42 of those positions. While we are hopeful that this will have a minimal impact on services, there certainly will be an impact on departmental operations. To achieve this balanced budget, which is $16,925,488 less than the current year's budget, we will be requesting that the Council approve a transfer of $2 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund to the General Fund. We will also request a two-year moratorium on transfers of 2% of the real property tax revenue to the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resource Preservation fund, which represents approximately $4.5 million for next fiscal year. Finally, in order to balance the budget we will request authorization to sell property located in the Hamakua district that was previously received in lieu of property taxes. If none of the requested changes are made, the revenues generated will result in a budget shortfall of $14.7 million. The real property assessed valuations used are still preliminary figures and the values certified in April may vary from those assumed here. The final budget presented to you in May will be based on the final numbers. REVENUE CHANGES The major changes in projected revenues are as follows: Real Property Tax. Real property tax revenues are expected to decrease by 5.6%, or $12.3 million, due to a 3.64% decrease in taxable values. Fuel Tax. Fuel taxes are expected to decrease by 9.6%, or $0.8 million due to a decrease in fuel consumption. Revenue from Use of Money and Property. Interest revenues are expected to decrease by $4 million due to the low yield on investments, which is reflective of the current economy. Intergovernmental Revenues. The increases in a number of grants are more than offset by the decreases in housing voucher assistance and transient accommodations taxes, resulting in a net decrease of $1.6 million. Charges for Service. Overall revenues from this source are expected to increase by $870,000 with increases in automotive charges exceeding the decrease in construction permit revenue.