General Fund this is the city's main operating account - money coming into this main fund (or account) is what the city uses to provide us with services like fire dept., policing, street repairs, street lights, to pay city employee salaries and buy supplies - from toilet paper to toner to postage stamps - you name it. It accounts for more than half of the city's revenue base. It's also where a large part of the city's expenses are paid out of. Salisbury does have a "surplus" showing of "income" over "expenses" and this money is transferred to other funds (a capital reserve fund and a Fibrant fund).
REVENUE (incoming money to the General Fund) - approx. $ 48.5 million (approx. 56% of Salisbury's Total Revenue.) The Chief revenue sources for the general fund are as follows:
Taxes: approx. $ 22.5 million (property taxes are the lion's share.) This is about 26% of Salisbury's Total Revenue and about 46% of the revenue, which goes into the General Fund.
o Property Taxes – Property tax values are provided by the Rowan County Tax Assessor’s Office.
o Prior Year Property Taxes - Based on historical trends adjusted by the size of the 2020 property tax receivable balance projected as of June 30, 2021 adjusted for the economy.
o Interest on Delinquent Taxes - Based on historical trends.
o Vehicle Tax – Based on number of vehicles inside city limits.
o Other Taxes - Based on historical trends.
Intergovernmental (Restricted + Unrestricted): approx. $12.3 million + $2.3 million (About 17% of Salisbury's Total Revenue and about 30% of the revenue that goes into the General Fund.) Restricted means the city can't just use it for any purpose; the money is restricted to being used for very specific purposes.
o Federal - Based on anticipated and existing grants. The two grants are CMAQ grants to fund Brenner Avenue improvements and Old Concord sidewalks. The City was awarded a SAFER Grant covering 3 full years for 9 fire positions. The Fiscal year 2021-22 is for the third year.
o State - Based on Fiscal Year 2021-22 state shared receipts plus anticipated state grants. The City receives funding for street maintenance through the Powell Bill Fund, which is allocated based on population and city-maintained street mileage (number of miles of streets that the City maintains.)
o Local Option Sales Tax - Based on estimates provided by the North Carolina League of Municipalities and last year's sales data.
o Other - Based on payment in lieu of taxes from the Housing Authority
Charges for Services: approx. $ 8.2 million (About 10% of Salisbury's Total Revenue and about 17% of the revenue that goes into the General Fund.)
o Environmental Protection - Based primarily on existing user charges for recycling, landfill tipping fees, and garbage collection.
o Culture and Recreation - Based on projected activities, participation, and fee levels.
o Code Services Fees – Based on historical trends.
o Public Safety - Based on historical trends for the revenues derived from police and fire protection and charges for radios and pagers to public agencies
o Cemetery - Based on historical trends.
o Radio Antenna and Paging Rentals – Based on historical trends.
o Rentals and Sale of Property - Based on historical trends
o Licenses and Permits – Based on historical trends for rental vehicle license and beer and wine license.
o Administrative Revenue - Based on estimated expenditures for services provided by General Fund departments that are reimbursed by the Enterprise Funds.
o Community Services – Based on historical trends with fees related to development and zoning. Other - Based on historical trends.
Miscellaneous: approx. $ 0.45 million (about 0.5% of Salisbury's Total Revenue and about 0.9% of the revenue that goes into the General Fund)
On my blog, I'll give us an overview on the Expenses out of the General Fund.
Disclaimer : I am not and do not claim to be an accounting or finance professional. I am not licensed to give financial advise and this blog is not intended to do so. This is based solely on my personal understanding of the publicly available Salisbury City Budget.