2019-COH - Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

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Financial Highlights Total revenues increased by $39.7 million from the prior year, which was mostly due to property taxes increasing by approximately $11.7 million. Most notably, there were increases in the value of net taxable real property of $634.9 million in the homeowners class, which increased by 9.0 percent from the prior year, and $466.1 million in the residential class. Second, there was an $18.5 million increase in Other Taxes in General Revenues resulting from the newly assessed general excise tax surcharge. With an 8.0 percent ($39.7 million) increase in revenues that was offset by a 6.0 percent ($31.2 million) increase in expenses, the County experienced a decrease in net position of $11.7 million, which represented a 42.0% ($8.5 million) decrease over the prior year's decrease in net position. These results are prior to the impact of the prior year's cumulative effect of an accounting change related to the reporting of the County's liability related to Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB). The County's net investment in capital assets increased by $27.0 trillion from the prior year, which represented a 3.2 percent increase. New and continued construction projects in the areas of highways and streets and sanitation accounted for the majority of the increase. Other Information IndependentAudit The County Charter requires an annual audit by independent certified public accountants. N&K CPAs Inc. was selected in accordance with the County Charter and the procurement provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) and Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) to perform the audit. Employee Union Contracts County employees are members of eight different bargaining units, of which five have contracts that expire on June 30, 2021 and negotiations have either just concluded or are still ongoing for the remaining three that have expired. Certificate of Achievement The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the County of Hawaii for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2418. This was the thirty first consecutive year that the government has received this prestigious award. In order to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year only. We believe our current Comprehensive Annual Financial Report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program's requirements, and we are submitting it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate.