I. Municipal Financial Analysis

Transcription

1 . Muncpal Fnancal Analyss

2 MUNCPAL FNANCAL ANALYSS One of the most mportant factors facng local governments s the state of ther fnancal resources. Very few servces can be provded wthout knowng the amount of money there s avalable to spend. nfrastructure such as roads and sewers, servces such as polce protecton and refuse collecton, captal expendtures for new equpment, and general government servces all depend on the muncpalty s operatng budget for ther fundng. Wth that n mnd, ths secton wll attempt to serve as an early-warnng system, based on hstorcal data, to brng attenton to potental problem areas wthn the muncpal fnancal structure of Rce s Landng Borough. Ths secton should help make sense of the many factors that affect fnancal condtons and present them n a straghtfonvard manner. An overall pcture of the Boroughs strengths and weaknesses and emergng problems should develop. The data for ths secton was gathered from the Borough s annual audt reports for the years 1993 through 1995 and the 1996 and 1997 budget estmates. At the tme ths secton was authored the audt reports for 1996 were not avalable. Addtonal data for 1993 was taken from the Local Government Fnancal Statstcs publshed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvana and the Department of Communty Affars (currently the Department of Communty and Economc Development). nformaton from ths publcaton serves as a benchmark for the Borough and allows for comparsons to other boroughs and townshps. Revenues and Expendtures Revenues determne the capacty of a muncpalty to provde sewces. Revenues should grow at a rate equal to or greater than expendtures. Revenues should also be dversfed so as to not be overly dependent on any one source. Expendtures are a rough measure of a muncpalty s servce output. n general, the more money a local government spends, the more servces t s provdng. However, ths does not take nto account how effectve the servces are or how effcently they are dstrbuted. Total revenues for a borough are derved from two categores: 1) taxes and 2) mscellaneous revenues. Revenues are derved by Rce s Landng Borough prmarly from tax collecton. n 1993 the Borough of Rce s Landng reported that out of $66,878 dollars n total revenue, over 47 percent were derved from tax collecton. Of the 47.2 percent of revenue, 57.8 percent were collected from taxes on real estate and another 39 percent from earned ncome taxes. n comparson 42.2 of the total revenues for boroughs n Greene County were derved from tax collecton, of whch an dentcal 57.8 percent came from real estate taxes, but a much lower 32.3 percent came from earned ncome taxes. n short Rce s landng s more dependent on tax collecton, especally taxes on earned ncome, than most boroughs n Greene County. Boroughs n Greene County have a much greater percentage of ther ncome derved from mscellaneous revenue sources such as santary sewer rents and charges, state hghway ad, waste and refse dsposal fees, and fnes or forfets. n fact, the average for Greene County boroughs s slghtly less than 58, percent of ther entre revenues are consdered to be subcategores of mscellaneous revenues and not tax based. The largest of the mscellaneous revenues are clearly the sewer rents and charges. Local boroughs derved over half of all revenues from sewer rents and charges. However, 1-1, 1

3 ths fgure s msleadng n Greene County because Waynesburg was the only muncpalty wth any ncome n ths category. nstead, local, small boroughs lke Rce s Landng receved the majorty of ther mscellaneous ncome from state and federal grants and state hghway ad. f we subtract the $477,624 Waynesburg receved for ther sewer rents and charges from the total mscellaneous revenues we fnd that local boroughs, ncludng Waynesburg, derved almost 29 percent of other ncome from state and federal grants. Addtonally, 20 percent of ther ncome was ad to help them mantan state hghways. Rce s Landng s even more dependent on grant money. The Borough derved half of ts mscellaneous ncome from state and federal grants and another 21 percent from state hghway ad money. Overall, Rce s Landng s dependent on state and federal money for over 40 percent of ther total revenue. Table 1-1 shows detaled revenue of the Borough s general fund taken from the local budget for the years 1993 through Compared to 1993, the percentages of ncome derved from taxes are smlar for the years The hgh percentage of ncome derved from taxes, especally real estate and earned ncome taxes are typcal of small boroughs wthout sewer rents and charges. Conversely many of the expenses for a borough are operatng the sewer servces. However, Rce s Landng s ncome from real estate has ncreased snce n 1993 the ncome from real estate was just under $1 9,000, around 28 percent of the total revenues for the Borough. n 1996 t s estmated to be $44,000 malung up over 44 percent of the total revenues. Projectons for the 1997 budget show a slght declne wth real estate taxes as more than 40 percent of total revenues. After combnng earned ncome taxes, whch have remaned relatvely steady, wth real estate, explaned are greater than 55 percent of all revenues for the Borough. The Borough of Rce s Landng should be aware of the need to ncrease revenue from other sources and not be as dependent on state and federal money. nterestngly, Rce s Landngs has accomplshed much of ths through ncreases n revenue from taxes. Addtonally, ncome from lcencng and permts and ntergovernmental revenue has ncreased ncely snce 1994 growng from nothng to currently amassng from 5 to 6 percent of the total revenues , 2

4 TABLE 1-1 Revenue Recepts, Rce s Landng Borough Totals Cush Jrmuuty Total Cash and Revenues 44, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Expendtures from the general fund ndcate the expenses the local borough has n operatng the borough functons. The majorty, over 80 percent, of expendtures for boroughs n Greene County come from total operaton and borough mantenance. Wthn that 80 percent are a wde varety of expenses such as general admnstraton, sewer and sewage treatment, refuse collecton, health servce, polce, fre, streets and hghways, lbrares, and parks and recreaton. The largest category n most boroughs are the outlay for captal expendtures and streets and hghways. Rce s Landng s largest expendture by far s ther outlay for streets and hghways over, 26 percent. Other boroughs average almost 3 1 percent of ths category. Another large expendture for Rce s Landng s the outlay for general admnstraton at almost 24 percent; almost 16 percent hgher than other local boroughs. Addtonal outlays for the Borough are 17 percent for polce and fre protecton and over 25 percent classfed as other. Polce protecton s very much even compared to other boroughs but the other expendtures are much hgher. Ths category usually ncludes expendtures such as workers compensaton, nsurance, employee benefts, and payroll taxes. Overall. Rce s Landng spends less than t receves but the expendtures are bascally commtted to three sources, streets and hghways, general admnstraton, and other costs such as payroll and workers compensaton. Together these three categores amass almost 80 percent of the total expendtures. 1-1, 3

5 TABLE 1-2 Revenues and expendtures per capta are found by dvdng the populaton nto total revenues and expendtures. Ths fgure wll be derved by dvdng the 1990 populaton of 457 persons by the years revenues. Rce's Landng per capta revenue has ncreased 81.4 percent from 1993 to A large varaton occurred n 1995 due to loan from Natonal Cty for over $25,000 to purchase a truck for the Borough and a larger mscellaneous revenue. Other wse, revenues n the Borough's most mportant category, real estate taxes, has ncreased over $6,000 snce Budget fgures for 1996 and 1997 ndcate a much greater ncrease n real estate taxes makng up the large ncrease n revenue per capta. When the 1996 audt fgures become avalable the ncrease n real estate taxes wll be much lower than the $20,000 predcted. Thus, the Borough's revenues are ncreasng at a consstent rate wth a slght declne predcted for Tables 1-3 and 1-4, below show the revenue ana expendtures per capta from " 1997" 67,882 TABLE 1-3 Revenue Per Capta, Rce's Landng Borough Year General Fund Revenue 1 Populaton Revenue Per Capta ~ ~~ 1993 $41, $ , , j Expendtures per capta have consstently ncreased snce n 1993 a low expendture on general government functons allows for a large cash reserve gong nto fscal year The large amount of expendtyes n 1996 and 1997 have been predcted wth large expendtures budgeted for recreaton and culture, other fnancng sources, and mscellaneous functons wth lttle cash reserves. a 1 -,4!

6 TABLE 1-4 Year General Fund Expendtures Populaton Expendtures Per Capta $39, $ , , , * 1997 budget fgures have been estmated by the Borough Source: Local Government Fnancal Statstcs Tax Rates Tax rates have remaned consstent snce Compared to other borough s n Greene County the rates are moderate to low. Clarkesvlle, Greensboro, and Jefferson are lower but only by a few mlls. On the other hand, Waynesburg s much hgher at 21.3 mlls and Carmchaels s hgher at 14.0 mlls. Overall, Rce s Landng s taxes reman low comparable more to townshps than many borough s n the State. TABLE 1-5 Operatng Poston e Another factor that nvestgates the relatonshp between expendtures and revenues s operatng poston. Operatng poston s calculated by dvdng total expendtures by total revenues. Ths provdes a pcture of a borough s ablty to balance ts budget, reserve fnances for future emergences, and pay ts short-term blls. An operatng poston greater than one ndcates that revenues exceeded expendtures for that gven year, and a borough operated at a budgetary surplus. An operatng poston of less than one ndcates that a borough s expendtures exceeded revenues and operate dat defct for that year. The larger the operatng poston, the greater the surplus (see Table 1-5 below). The operatng poston s up and down for 1993 through 1995 because of fnancng sources as revenue. Over the three year perod the defct for 1994 evens out as the operatng poston averaged The severe budget defcts are msleadng because of the large captal reserves predcated beng spent and these reserves are not ncluded n the revenue fgures. However, the actual fgures for the 1996 and 1997 budgets wll not be as hgh as estmated. e 1-1.3

7 TABLE 1-6 Some fnancal analysts warn that fnancal weakness may result from practces such as: operatng two or more years wth an operatng defct, a current year defct greater than that of the pror year, operatng defcts n two of the past fve years, and a defct greater than 5-10 percent of the annual operatng budget. The factors could mpact a communty by forcng the muncpalty to pay hgher nterest rates on money t borrows or greater debt servces n general. n order to combat hture operatng defcts, fnancal analysts recommend mantanng a fund balance of 5 percent of the general operatng budget. Any surpluses greater than 5 percent should be used tc fund one-tme captal expendtures. f surpluses are used to artfcally balance the budget, the Townshp would have to rase enough revenues to cover the surpluses when they run out. Although dffcult to acheve, moderate fund balances are good nsurance. One practce that should always be avoded s borrowng money for greater than one year to fund operatng expenses. Ths practce allows a muncpalty to avod the realty of ether cuttng servces or rasng revenues suffcent to pay for current servce levels. Ths practce s dscussed n depth n the next secton, Debt. Debt Debt s mportant to analyze because t s an expendture oblgaton whch must be pad when due. Debt s an effectve means of fnancng captal mprovements, but ts msuse can cause serous fnancal repercussons. Even temporary nablty to repay ncurred debt can result n loss of credt ratng and ncreased cost of future borrowng. Currently, Rce s Landng has a loan from Natonal Cty acqured n 1995, for slghtly over $25,000 used to purchase a Borough truck. Also, more the Borough mantans a credt lne wth the State and makes $ quarterly payments. Overall, barng a major nvestment need, such as a new mower, the Borough wll be debt free for the new mllennum. e e -,6

8 TABLE 1-7 Year Debt Servce General Fund Debt Servce as a Revenue Percentage - of Revenue 1993 $0.00 $14, % , % , , % , , % , , yo Source: Local Government Fnancal Statstcs Property Value Ths factor measures the growth n property value over tme and s desgned to ndcate growth from year to year. Snce property taxes represent a major source of revenue for local governments n Pennsylvana, growth n property value s consdered a key sgn of economc health. The property value factor s calculated by takng the current year s assessed property value, subtractng last year s assessed property value and dvdng by last year s assessed property value. For ths factor, any postve number ndcates a percentage growth n the assessed property value. Rce s Landng s property values have remaned relatvely steady for the past 5 years wth a slght trend of declne. Snce 1993 the total assessed value has dropped 1.4 percent or slghtly over $27,500 dollars. t should be notced that the large growth found n from 1992 to was 1993 because of a County wde reassessment. There were no major changes n actual propertes n the Borough n taxable real estate. Pttsburgh coal assessments are separate from the real estate estmates and changed dramatcally that year also due to a devaluaton of the property owned by Consoldated Coal Company. TABLE 1-8 Rce s Landng Borough Rate of Change n Property Value. Taxable Real Estate, Year Current Year Assessed Prevous Year s Assessed Rate of Change of Property Value ($000) Property Value ($000) Property Value 1993 $ $ % 1991 $ $ % 1995 $ $ % 1996 $2,000,625 $ % $ $ o/n Source: Local Government Fnancal Statstcs, Greene County. -,7

9 Fscal capacty Fscal capacty computes the relatonshp between populaton and the assessed property value n the Townshp. Ths gves an dea of the contrbuton of property value to the ablty of the communty to meet ts oblgatons. Fscal capacty s calculated by dvdng the assessed valuaton of real estate by populaton as a measure of the growth n assessed valuaton per capta TABLE 1-9 Fscal Capacty Rce s Landng, Populaton Fscal real estate ($000) Capacty S2,025, $2,015, $ 1,991, $2,000, S1,998, Source: Local Government Fnancal Statstcs Fndngs Revenues are derved by Rce s Landng Borough prmarly from tax collecton. n 1993 the Borough of Rce s Landng reported that out of $66,878 dollars n total revenue over 47 percent was derved from tax collecton. Of the 47.2 percent of revenue 57.8 percent were collected from taxes on real estate and another 39 percent from earned ncome taxes. n short Rce s landng s more dependent on tax collecton, especally taxes on earned ncome, than most boroughs n Greene County. The hgh percentage of ncome derved from taxes, especally real estate and earned ncome taxes are typcal of small boroughs wthout sewer rents and charges. Conversely many of the expenses for a borough are operatng the sewer servces. However, Rce s Landng s ncome from real estate has ncreased snce n 1993 the ncome from real estate was just under $19,000, around 28 percent of the total revenues for the Borough. n 1996 t s estmated to be $44,000 malung up over 44 percent of the total revenues. Projectons for the 1997 budget show a slght declne wth real estate taxes as more than 40 percent of total revenues. After combnng earned ncome taxes, whch have remaned relatvely steady, wth real estate, explaned are greater than 55 percent of all revenues for the Borough. 0 8 Rce s Landng s largest expendture by far s ther outlay for streets and hghways over, 26 percent. Other boroughs average almost 31 percent of ths category. Another large expendture for Rce s Landng s the outlay for general admnstraton at almost 24 percent; almost 16 percent hgher than other local boroughs. Addtonal outlays for the Borough are 17 percent for polce and fre protecton and over 25 percent classfed as other. The operatng poston s up and down for 1993 through 1995 because of fnancng sources 0 -,8

10 as revenue. Over the three year perod the defct for 1994 evens out as the operatng poston averaged Rce s Landng s property values have remaned relatvely steady for the past 5 years wth! slght trend of declne. Snce 1993 the total assessed value has dropped 1.4 percent or slghtly over $27,500 dollars., 0 -,9

11 J. Analyss of Strengths and Weaknesses

12 ANALYSS OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Communtes are known for ther strengths and weaknesses. People wll dentfy communtes wth ther dstnctve characterstcs; for example, a communty has a good school dstrct or a communty has poor roads. As part of the Rce s Landng Borough 1997 Comprehensve Plan, an analyss of the strengths and weaknesses of the Borough has been undertaken. Ths secton of the plan revews those strengths and weaknesses. Strengths Strengths are postve attrbutes of a muncpalty. Rce s landng Borough has many strengths that make t an attractve place to lve and work. Weaknesses Weaknesses are defcences, problems or undesrable condtons n Rce s Landng. dentfcaton of these weaknesses provdes the bass for formulatng fbture recommendatons n the comprehensve plan. 1 CATEGORY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Physcal Access to Monongahela Rver. Steep slopes along downtown and Pennsylvana Terran Ralroad. Upper plateau are: flat land wth open lots hood plan borderng downtown along Man Street and good )hydrc) sol. and Rver Road. Land Use Housng Economc Development Large suffcent amounts of nactve ndustral lands. Land avalable for development along Crucble Road. Many open resdental lots n upper plateau area. Housng s generally n good condton. Low turnover and low vacancy rates. Homes are all R-1. sngle-famly resdental. TABLE J-1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF RCE S LANDNG Hghly resdental. quet. and safe attractng long term occupancy (commuter frendly). Access to Mon-Valley Eqressway. 95 percent of ndustral land s owned by Consol and currently not avalable for development. Few exstng commnunty structures n downtown. Lack of avalable land for constructon n downtown - hghly resdental. Hgh percent of homeowners are elderly. Lack of avalable housng. (Lack of starter homes) Lack of rental opportuntes. Lack of alternatve housng for elderly.!majorty of housng s pre-1939 and requres constant mantenance. Lack of commercal actvty n Borough. Lack of busness ncubator or cvc groups supportng actvty. 0 -J, 1

13 ~~ ~~~ STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF RCE'S LANDNG CATEGORY 11 STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Economc Development Access to shoppng andother actvtes only 2 mles away. Transportaton Access to Mon-Valley va Route 88. Publc Utltes Communty Facltes Parks and Green 'pace Rver access va (landng, boat launch). coal owns most of the land and s oldng the land nactve. lack of access to major hghways. No dockng facltes. Publc water supported by Monongahela No publc sewage servces. Adequate fre and ambulance servces. Under coverage. No local emergency center. 'Access to many local facltes for prvate rental or socal gatherngs. Educatonal facltes are n good condton and serve the area well. Medcal faclty senrces wthn 20 mles of borough plus helcopter servces avalable. The Borough has ts own buldng. Access to Mon va boat ramp. Large park area wth prvate rental pavlon, Fshng Ral along Mon Rver. Access to many sgrufcant recreatonal facltes wthn 10 mles of Borough. (Wanabee and Ryerstown) No local polce protecton. 'No dock for boat landngs. Lack of recreatonal facltes n Pumpkn Run Park lack of mproved trals. playground equpment. parkng. -J, 2