The final interim financial report for the first ten months of fiscal 2022 has been published by the Clerk and shows the followingÉ
Total cash on the County’s balance sheet equals $1.33 billion.
Of this total, $693.4 million is unrestricted and can be used for any county purpose.
Property taxes collected are $296.0 million.
Surplus (revenues less expenses) is $222.9 million of which $158.8 million is derived from governmental revenues and $64.1 million is derived from business activities (think sewer and water, solid waste etcÉ)
Capital spending is $58.1 million versus a projected budget of over $150 million.
These numbers suggest the following conclusionsÉ
Despite the recent millage cuts of the last 2 years, property taxes are still too high.
Revenues and expenses are wildly out of balance and some sort of redress such as a substantial variable property tax credit is needed to address the imbalance.
A waiver on the use of Restricted cash of $525.3 million is needed from Manatee County’s state legislative delegation because these funds are piling up just like the unrestricted funds and need to freed up so they can be used for any legitimate county purpose.
The Capital spending budget is unrealistic based on manpower and material availability.
Some sort of low to medium-income household building program can be a viable addition to the capital spending budget.
Additional funding for the not-for-profit human service agencies operating in Manatee County will help to ameliorate the suffering of the last 3 years caused by Covid and Hurricane Ian.
Mike Meehan, CFA, MBA
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