Discussion:
August 2019 Review (See Attachment)
Revenue Variances (+/- 10% of 66% Target)
- Taxes will be below target until December when the second half property taxes are received.
- Special Assessments continue to be a negative amount due to the payment to Republic Services for delinquent garbage assessments. Similar to last year, this account will be negative until we receive our first and second half tax payments.
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Licenses and Permits continues its strong upward trend with $3.4 million in permit and license revenue which equates to 193 percent of the year's budget.
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Intergovernmental revenue is below the target budget but is in line with revenues from this same time last year. Police and Fire state aid are received in October which will solidify the revenues at that point.
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Fines & Forfeitures revenue is higher due to alcohol violation fines earlier this year.
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Miscellaneous revenue is tracking at a higher pace compared to 2018, which is attributed to an increase in investment income.
Expenditure Variances (+/- 10% of 66% Target)
- Overall General Fund expenditures are sitting at 63% of budget which is right in line for this point in the year.
- Natural Resources is over budget due to contracted tree trimming work that began late last winter, which was a planned budget expenditure. This budget variance should be eliminated as the year progresses.
- Street Maintenance is within the target variance at this point, but is trending above the 66% mark. This department not only accounts for the increased costs of this past never-ending winter and related snow plowing events, but also accounts for the seal coating and crack sealing costs in the summer. In July, payments for almost $82,000 were made for seal coating and pavement striping.
- All other departments/divisions are within +/-10% of the August 31, 2019 target date.
SandVenture/Ice Arena/Community Center Year-over-Year Comparison (See Attachment)
August 2019
SandVenture revenues ended the season with a slight increase of about 2.5 percent compared to last year. Total revenue ended the season below the budget target, but is likely due to cool and wet first month of the summer.
As mentioned in previous months, wages and benefits are higher than last year, but this isn't a true comparison at this point. We discovered in early July last year that part-time staff at SandVenture were not coding their time to the correct facility. A journal entry moving over $29,000 wages and benefits from the Community Center to SandVenture was posted in early September to correct the coding. Adding that $29,000 to the 2018 YTD wages and benefits minimizes the variance for this year. Operating expenditures are down in comparison to last year. Last year, SandVenture expended about $17,000 on filter media replacement before the season started.
Even though the outdoor pool season is over, SandVenture will continue to accrue expenditures as monthly rent charges, utility charges and some minor personnel costs are charged to this facility.
Ice arena revenues are approximately $423,000 through August 31, a decrease of $4,800 from this same time last year.
Ice arena total expenditures are about $43,000 higher than this same time last year. Part of the variance is related to the purchase of an $11,000 industrial floor scrubber. This is a one-time purchase and will be made up from savings in canceling the cleaning contract and bringing those duties in house. Overall, ice arena expenditures account for 61 percent of the year's budget.
Community Center revenues are over $834,000 thru August 31, which is about 88 percent of the year's budget and over $91,000 higher than this time last year. The wages & benefits category is about $90,000 more this same time last year, which is mainly attributed to being fully staffed this year. The increase in operating expenses is related to an increase in internal rent charges from 2018 to 2019 and general operating expenses such as pool chemicals, birthday party supplies, and other promotional supplies associated with room rentals and community center activities.
Overall, the Community Center has utilized 68 percent of its expenditure budget through August 31, which is on target through this point of the year.
Deferred revenue related to annual membership sales for August 2019 and 2018 are very similar.