BENTONVILLE — Benton County officials got some welcome news about fiscal health Thursday night.
Comptroller Sarah Daniels told the Finance Committee of the Quorum Court sales tax revenue and jail fees will exceed projections for 2012, and the county also will have about $1.3 million in returned from the 2012 budget.
Daniels said the reserve fund balance will be about $18.8 million.
“Our sales tax revenue came in over budget by about $100,000,” Daniels said Friday. “We collected approximately $460,000 more in 2012 than we did the year before. Jail collections came in at $130,000 more than our revised budget amount of $750,000. We had originally budgeted $1,750,000 for the year, but we revised that midyear when we saw how the collections were coming in. We revised it to $750,000 and they ended up coming at $130,000 more.”
The jail collection revenue is money received, primarily from the state, for housing prisoners in the Benton County Jail.
At A Glance
Reserve Fund
Arkansas counties are required by state law to keep a minimum reserve equaling 10 percent of the county’s available money, before expenditures, according to Sarah Daniels, Benton County comptroller. Benton County has $21.9 million in available money, mandating a reserve of $2.2 million. In addition to that amount, Daniels said, the county has $16.6 million in unrestricted reserve.
Source: Staff Report
Daniels said county offices and departments will return at least $1.3 million unspent from 2012 to the general fund. She said that figure could increase by the end of February when the county closes its books for 2012. Daniels said unspent appropriations in supplies and other services categories could bring anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million from the 2012 budget.
The county recouped about $1.1 million from those categories in the 2011 budget, she said.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen, Finance Committee chairman, said he wants to be cautious about returned money.
“I don’t want to treat it like it’s ‘found money’ for the county to spend this year,” Allen said, noting Sheriff Kelley Cradduck asked justices of the peace to approve $255,000 for vehicles at Thursday night’s meeting.
“I count what we passed on to the Committee of 13 as part of that returned appropriations,” Allen said. “Beyond that, I would like to see us get back to putting some money into the Capital Projects Fund each year, which we didn’t do this past budget cycle.”
The Capital Projects Fund is a separate reserve fund that can be drawn upon for specific projects or for unexpected capital needs during the year.
Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore said he wasn’t surprised the county saw the amount Daniels detailed for returned appropriations and sales tax revenue.
“I know that when we budgeted, we budgeted very conservatively,” Moore said. “I was not surprised, in fact I was hoping we would get some news like that, so I’m pleased.”
Moore said he would like to see the county put some of the returned money and additional revenue toward rural fire service. The county plans to buy two fire trucks for use by smaller fire departments in the county. Moore would like to see another truck added.
Moore expects the County Road Department will be busy in 2013 and beyond as the statewide sales tax revenue for road projects becomes available, and the county may want to supplement that money.
“I guess that would be my next highest priority,” Moore said.