AGENDA DATE: 12/6/2017
TITLE:
Title
FY 18 Q1 General Fund Financial Report; and FY 18 Q1 Quarterly Economic Indicators Report
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Most recent financial indicators and County economic indicators
ITEM TYPE: Consent Information Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Letteri, Burrell, Breeden, L., and Allshouse, S.
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The attached Unaudited Quarterly Financial Report (UQFR) (Attachment A) provides information regarding the County’s FY 18 General Fund and School Fund performance as of September 30, 2017. The Quarterly Economic Indicator Report (QEIR) (Attachments B and C) provides an overview of recent general economic conditions of the County.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Operational Capacity: Ensure County government’s ability to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities. Economic Prosperity: Foster an environment that stimulates diversified job creation, capital investments, and tax revenues that support community goals.
DISCUSSION:
Quarterly Financial Report
The Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) reflects year-to-date (YTD) data through September 30, 2017, the end of the first quarter (Q1) of FY 18. The data in the attached QFR is organized in a way that is consistent with Exhibit 12 of the County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Most line item titles in the QFR match the line item titles in the CAFR.
Highlights from the QFR include:
Revenues - YTD Actual
YTD total revenues in Q1 FY 18 were $16,986,786 compared to $16,971,739 in Q1 FY 17. In percentage terms, FY 18 YTD actual revenues as a percentage of FY18 Revised Budget revenues were 6.19%, compared to 6.57% in FY 17.
Expenditures - YTD Actual
YTD total expenditures in Q1 FY 18 were $66,749,333 compared to $65,379,148 in Q1 FY 17. In percentage terms, FY 18 YTD actual expenditures as a percentage of FY 18 Revised Budget expenditures were 24.31%, compared to 25.30% in FY 17.
County Executive Authorized Transfers and Appropriations A table listing the County Executive authorized transfer and appropriations made during the third quarter of FY 18 is included on page 7.
ACPS Quarterly Financial Report
As requested by the Board, the Albemarle County Public Schools Quarterly Financial Report as of September 30, 2017 is included as a table on page 10 of the QFR.
An Investment Activity Summary for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2017 is included on page 11.
Quarterly Economic Indicators Report
The Quarterly Economic Indicators Report (QEIR) (Attachment B and C) shows the state of the County’s economy. The QEIR contains data taken from the most recently available quarter and compares this data with data from the same quarter of previous fiscal years. General economic activity, as measured by five select revenue streams, grew between Q4 FY 16 and Q4 FY 17 (the most recent quarter for which complete data is readily available for all of the revenue streams), although there was substantial variation in the performance of the revenue streams. The unemployment rate in Albemarle declined slightly between Q1 FY 17 and Q1 FY 18, dropping from 3.57% to 3.43%. This year-over-year performance was consistent with the behavior of the national and state unemployment rates. Nominally, the County appears to have reached “full employment.” The County’s jobs base, meanwhile, appears to have experienced robust growth between Q3 FY 16 and Q3 FY 17, again the most recent quarter for which information is available. The total number of jobs increased from 51,954 to 54,653. This growth of 2,699 positions, roughly 5%, is consistent with a strong local labor market. The revenue stream, unemployment rate, and jobs data suggest that the County’s economy grew at a healthy pace in the most recent year, a situation that is consistent with the U.S. and state economies. Looking forward to the remaining quarters of FY 18, staff thinks that, assuming the U.S. economy remains healthy, the County’s unemployment rate should remain around 3.5%, and the jobs base should grow by about 2% over the final FY 17 level.
BUDGET IMPACT: Revenues and expenditures data contained in the UQFR reflects the state of the County’s FY 18 budget-to-actual financial performance as of September 30, 2017. Data shown in the QEIR reflects economic variables that affect the County’s current and future revenues and expenditures.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
These reports are for information only. Staff welcomes the Board’s feedback regarding the content and presentation of these reports.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Q1 FY 18 Unaudited Quarterly Financial Report
Attachment B: Q1 FY 18 Economic Indicators Report
Attachment C: Q1 FY 18 Quarterly Economic Indicators-Table 1