Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2021

Home

Financial Highlights Total revenues increased by $100.2 million from the prior year, which was mostly due to operating grants and contributions increasing by approximately $89.7 million. In addition to grants with specific purposes, the County received $88.0 million in federal grants related to the Coronavirus Relief that were used to meet general needs resulting from the pandemic. An additional $83.8 million in federal grants was also received in connection with the 2018 Klauea eruption. Second, there was an increase of $25.8 million in real property taxes, which resulted from a $1.8 billion increase in the assessed value of the net taxable real property, with the majority stemming from the category of taxable buildings. The residential class of property was also divided into two tiers, with Tier II revenues having a 23% increase in real property tax rates. With a 17.0 percent ($100.2 million) increase in revenues that was offset by a 16.0 percent ($94.2 million) increase in expenses, the County experienced an increase in net position of $29.0 million, which represented a 26 percent ($6.0 million) increase over the prior year's increase in net position. The County's net investment in capital assets increased by $25.6 million from the prior year, which represented a 3.0 percent increase. New and continued construction projects in the areas of highways and streets and parks and recreation accounted for the majority of the increase. Other Information Independent Audit 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 Hawai' i County's civil service employees are members of eight different bargaining units, of which all prior contracts expired on June 30, 2021. Agreements have been reached for bargaining units 01, 02, 03, 04 and 13 for the time period July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023. These two year contracts include language for reopeners specific to salaries and wages in the second year. Reopener discussions have begun for bargaining units 01, 02, 03, 04, and 13. Negotiations have reached an impasse and arbitration hearings for bargaining units 11, 12 and 15 are scheduled for early 2022. 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 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. This was the thirty third 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 annual comprehensive financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. -6-