2014-COH - Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

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Capital Assets (net of depreciation) June 30, 2014 and 2013 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 primarily comprised of bonds of $297.1 million and State Revolving Fund loans of $22.9 million. At the end of the current fiscal year, the County had total bonded debt outstanding of $297.1 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 decreased by $16.2 million (5 percent) during the current fiscal year due to regularly scheduled principal payments. At the end of the fiscal year, the County maintained its "AA-" rating from Standard & Poor's and Fitch and "Aa2" rating from Moody's for general obligation debt. State statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt the County may issue up 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 $3.5 billion, which is in excess of the County's outstanding general obligation debt. Currently the County's outstanding debt represents 8 percent of our debt limitation. 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 for the current fiscal year is at approximately 6.0 percent, which represents over a two percent decline from last year's rate for the same period of 8.3 percent and an even larger decline from the high of 11.0 percent in 2011. • The number of visitors to the County for the current fiscal year was approximately 1.42 million, with an approximately 4.0 percent decrease from the previous year's count of 1.47 million. However, for the most part, the County is less dependent on tourism than the other islands in the State. • Astronomy continues to be a major factor in the success of the County's economy with an estimated nearly 500 new jobs opening up through 2023 to meet the needs of the current observatories and the creation of new jobs with the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) by the TMT Observatory Corporation. On October 7, 2014, the dedication and groundbreaking ceremony for the TMT was held. It is anticipated that the -25- Primary Government Governmental Activities Business -type Activities Total 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 Land and improvements $ 189,366,207 $ 163,565,168 $ 753,877 $ 753,877 $ 190,120,084 $ 164,319,045 Infrastructure assets 274,721,099 274,969,315 - - 274,721,099 274,969,315 Ground and site improvements - - 70,934 75,280 70,934 75,280 Buildings and improvements 498,293,093 476,759,437 718,631 754,675 499,011,724 477,514,112 Easements 3,803,176 3,500,794 - - 3,803,176 3,500,794 Equipment 48,353,349 48,585,309 33,707 28,056 48,387,056 48,613,365 Construction work in progress 37,709,918 42,477,332 - - 37,709,918 42,477,332 Total $1,052,246,842 $1,009,857,355 $ 1,577,149 7 1,611,888 $1,053,823,991 $1,011,469,243 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 primarily comprised of bonds of $297.1 million and State Revolving Fund loans of $22.9 million. At the end of the current fiscal year, the County had total bonded debt outstanding of $297.1 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 decreased by $16.2 million (5 percent) during the current fiscal year due to regularly scheduled principal payments. At the end of the fiscal year, the County maintained its "AA-" rating from Standard & Poor's and Fitch and "Aa2" rating from Moody's for general obligation debt. State statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt the County may issue up 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 $3.5 billion, which is in excess of the County's outstanding general obligation debt. Currently the County's outstanding debt represents 8 percent of our debt limitation. 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 for the current fiscal year is at approximately 6.0 percent, which represents over a two percent decline from last year's rate for the same period of 8.3 percent and an even larger decline from the high of 11.0 percent in 2011. • The number of visitors to the County for the current fiscal year was approximately 1.42 million, with an approximately 4.0 percent decrease from the previous year's count of 1.47 million. However, for the most part, the County is less dependent on tourism than the other islands in the State. • Astronomy continues to be a major factor in the success of the County's economy with an estimated nearly 500 new jobs opening up through 2023 to meet the needs of the current observatories and the creation of new jobs with the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) by the TMT Observatory Corporation. On October 7, 2014, the dedication and groundbreaking ceremony for the TMT was held. It is anticipated that the -25-