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Additional information on the County's capital assets can be found in note 6 to the basic financial statements. Long-term debt. Long-term debt is comprised of bonds of$269,281,339 and State Revolving Fund loans of$30,246,751. At the end of the current fiscal year,the County had total bonded debt outstanding of$269.3 million. This entire amount was comprised of general obligation bonds which are backed by the full faith and credit of the County. The County's total bonded debt increased by$72.6 million(37 percent)during the current fiscal year. The key factors in this increase were new debt($85.0 million)and normal principal reduction. The County maintains an"A+"rating from Standard&Poor's,an"A1"rating from Moody's and an"A+"rating from Fitch for general obligation debt. State statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt the County may issue to 15 percent of the total assessed value of all county real property as established for tax purposes on the last tax assessment rolls. The current debt limitation for the County is$3,406,144,000,which is in excess of the County's outstanding general obligation debt. Currently the County's outstanding debt represents eight percent of our debt limitation. At the end of the current fiscal year,the County also had loans outstanding from the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund amounting to$30.2 million and notes payable to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,Farmers Home Administration amounting to$1.0 million. Additional information on the County's long-term debt can be found in note 10 to the basic financial statements. ECONOMIC FACTORS AND NEXT YEAR'S BUDGETS AND RATES • The unemployment rate for the County is 2.8 percent,which is down from the prior year rate of 3.2 percent. • The number of visitors to the County for the most recent calendar year was 1,597,056,up seven percent from the previous year's count of 1,487,747. Both of these factors were considered in preparing the County's budget for the 2008 fiscal year. At the end of the current fiscal year,unreserved fund balance in the general fund was$29.0 million. The County has appropriated$19.0 million of this amount for spending in the 2008 fiscal year budget. REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION This financial report is designed to provide a general overview of the County's finances for all those with an interest in the government's finances. Questions concerning any of the information provided in this report or requests for additional information should be addressed to the Director of Finance,County of Hawaii,25 Aupuni Street,Room 118,Hilo,Hawaii 96720. -22-