Lincoln city treasurer's annual report

[AUG. 30, 2004]  Text from scanned documents:

ANNUAL TREASURER'S REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 2004

The Annual Treasurer's Report for the past Fiscal Year ending April 30, 2004 was recently distributed to City Council Members. This report was prepared and distributed by the City Clerk's Office by City Clerk Melanie Riggs. The report, after approved by the Finance Committee, will be published in the Courier and a copy given to the Logan County Treasurer in accordance with State laws for municipalities. We are waiting for the official audit report to be completed before the report is published.

The DISCLAIMER attached to the front of the report includes several funding accounts which are not at the discretion of the City Council, Mayor, or the City Treasurer. These funds are managed by other parties or individuals within the framework of the city government. Such funds include: Special Fire Department; DUI Fund; Drug Forfeiture Fund: Police Task Force Fund; E911 Fund; E.R.T. Team; and the D.A.R.E. Fund. These funds totals are reflected in the Treasurer's Report and also the audit totals for the City.

The Annual Treasurer's Report lists a Revenue Summary; Compensation Summary; Fire Pension Payments; Police Pension Payments; Expenditures (Vendors) Summary; and a Statement of Condition for the Fiscal Year. PLEASE NOTE THE REPORT IS ON A CASH BASIS FOR THE 2003-2004 FISCAL YEAR.

Perhaps the best way to analyze the report is to compare this year's Statement of Condition with the past few years. This will give City Council Members a comparative look as to revenues received, expenditures in various accounts, and the remaining FUND BALANCES not only for the past Fiscal Year, but, at the close of the two previous Fiscal Years as well. Hopefully, this type of analysis of the Annual Treasurer's Report will be most useful to Council Members at this time.

COMPARATIVE SUMMARY ON STATEMENT OF CONDITIONS

Fund Balances	2002	2003	2004
General Fund	$972,178	$899,827	$ 898,358
Special Revenue	$924,906	$961,009	$1,029,772
Debt Service	$ 0,435	$7,069	$17,575
Cap. Projects	$-0-	$624,084	$630,274
Enterprise	$148,371	$1,496,587	$2,127,400
Internal Service	$46,957	$103,515	$143,337
Trust	$16,233,488	$16,232,405	$16,368,711

NOTE: explanation of funds mentioned above follows expenditures.

COMPARATIVE EXPENDITURES
OVER PAST 3 YEARS

	2002	2003	2004
Salaries	$3,101,659	$3,110,429	$2,770,631
Fire Pensions	$551,242	$611,536	$ 662,175
Police Pensions	$489,195	$497,327	$ 509,412
Vendors	$5,011,196	$4,688,576	$12,152,218
TOTAL	$9,153,292	$8,907,868	$16,054,436

NOTE: City of Lincoln expended 80.2% more than last Fiscal Year. (See attached listing of large vendor payments in 2003-2004.)

2003-2004
Largest Expenditures To Vendors

Anderson Electric	$1,092,191.00
EMC	$2,062,709
Femley-Dickerson Co.	$5,415,198
Parkson Corporation	$93,569
Blue Cross-Blue Shield	$379,958
Callendar & Company	$397,276
Gardner Denver Hoffman	$134,100
Metropolitan Industries	$141,779
State Bank	$163,455
TDBG & Interior Specialty	$174,120
TDBG & Vaughn Tile	$83,549
Design Build Group, LLC.	$93,145
Walker Process Equipment	$127,565

For those who read and try to interpret or analyze this report, we have provided some information below concerning the contents of the various accounts which are included in the FUND BALANCES mentioned on the previous page:

General Fund: Includes General Fund, Special Fire Dept., Drug Forfeiture, Police Task Force, E.R.T. Team, DUI Fund, D.A.R.E., E911, Fire Protection, Police Protection and Streets and Alleys.

Special Rev.: Includes Audit, ESDA, Fire Protection, Forestry, Liability Insurance, Motor Fuel Tax, IMRF, Police Protection, Public Benefits, Streets & Alleys, and Crossing Guards.

Debt Service: Includes funds left over from payment of debt service fees.

Cap. Projects: Funds left over for capital improvement projects to be expended on future Projects.

Enterprise: Includes Sewer Operations & Administration, Illinois EPA Loan Fund, and Contingency and Depreciation.

Intern. Ser.: Includes only the Rental Equipment Fund.

Trust Fund: Includes Police Pension Fund, Firemen's Pension Fund, and the Revolving Fund.

The chart on the following page [see below] compares Revenues over the past four years. A written summary outlining some changes in Revenues as compared to last Fiscal Year is also included to assist Council Members. This summary may or may not be helpful in future Budget planning or in understanding the changes in revenues cited in the chart. If it raises questions, then, Council Members should follow up on those inquiries in the City Clerk's Office.

BUILDING PERMITS

The City had a 56.0% decrease in building permit revenues compared to last year.

DONATIONS

We recorded a 28.6% decrease compared to last year in this revenue source.

CIRCUIT CLERK

Circuit Clerk collections for the city decreased this year from $171,396 to $138,181.

DRUG FORFEITURE FUND

This source of revenue did not produce funds this Fiscal Year.

FRANCHISE FEES

Franchise fees decreased 19.0% as compared with last year.

GRANTS

There was a increase from $30,485 last year to $34,562 this year.

INTEREST

The breakdown for the interest receipts were Fire & Police Pensions ($541,694); City and other funds ($63,080). This represents an increase of 50.2 % overall. We received a total of $402,467 last year and $604,774 in 2003-2004.

LICENSES

Licenses increased 27.5% in 2003-2004 after having a 11.3% increase in 2002-2003.

MOTOR FUEL TAX

This normally steady increasing source of revenue increased slightly this year.

PARKING METER COLLECTION

Parking meter collections increased 53.2% compared to last year.

PROPERTY TAX

The City experienced a decrease of 1.25% in property tax revenues over the previous year. An increase last year was 1.35%.

REPLACEMENT TAX

This tax source showed a 11.0% increase over the previous year.

SALES TAX

Sales tax receipts DECREASED $15,516 as compared to last fiscal year. Consumer spending drives the sales tax receipts up or down. Our current economy has us in a downward trend at present- a nationwide trend, not just Lincoln, Illinois. Perhaps we are on an upward trend in local sales this Fiscal Year.

SEWERAGE RECEIPTS

Sewerage receipts were up 4.7% in 2003-2004 due to the increased sewer rates put in place to upgrade the disposal plant as required by the IEPA.

STATE INCOME TAX

The State Income tax distribution for Lincoln was $79,821 lower this past fiscal year than in fiscal 2002-2003. This represents a 7.9% decrease in receipts.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE FEES

This relatively new source of revenue added $62,432 to city coffers in 2001-2002 and decreased to $53,255 in FY 2002-2003. This year (2003-2004) we received $72,761.

If Council Members have questions about the data presented in this report it is recommended that you seek some answers from the City Clerk's Office. When unusual differences occur in REVENUES/EXPENDITURES there is normally a simple explanation for those differences. If you need to know more about City finance it is suggested that you spend a few minutes of spare time with the City Clerk to obtain some information and valuable assistance.

Hopefully, this report will help provide some input and some understanding about FISCAL YEAR 2003-2004 finances and that it will assist Council Members as they work on Committee Assignments and in structuring Budgets in future years. Since a Budget is basically a working plan of estimated revenues and expenditures based upon past experiences and present needs, Council Members should look to past fiscal patterns to make decisions about spending and suggested improvements.

I believe that as Council Members you have to realize that we have experienced a difficult year in municipal financing. You are not alone as most other cities have had the same kind of set backs in normally steady financing trends. We can blame September 11 for some of the woes, but, as a nation we were in a free fall prior to the terrorist attack which added to our economic problems. We have to be patient and wait for better times while doing as much as we can for the residents of this community. We all look forward to better times ahead. Besides being patient while the economy improves, we must also be prudent in our spending habits. Spending should not exceed our revenues.

Lester D. Plotner, City Treasurer

(7/19/04)

[From scanned documents]

REVENUES OVER PAST 5 YEARS- 1999-2004

Source	1999-2000	2000-2001	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004
2% Foreign Fire Insurance	$7,756	$7,494	$8,080	$9,508	$10,859
Building Permits	$30,579	$22,503	$20,427	$38,081	$16,750
Circuit Clerk	$188,435	$184,718	$156,610	$171,346	$138,181
Donations	$3,255	$6,661	$7,937	$30,359	$21,661
Drug Forfeiture Funds	-0-	$43,638	-0-	-0-	-0-
Equipment Rental	$150,019	$143,171	$169,782	$150,304	$121,567
Franchise Fees (Cable)	$114,165	$122,671	$117,267	$150,086	$121,452
Grants	$124,347	$657,570	$31,257	$30,485	$34,562
Insurance Reimbursement	$6,167	-0-	$27,173	-0-	-0-
Interest	$968,724	$1,262,206	$806,347	$402,467	$604,774
Licenses	$43,049	$48,178	$49,532	$55,158	$70,328
Miscellaneous	$49,644	$45,991	$45,599	$41,441	$47,283
Motor Fuel Tax	$414,556	$447,187	$429,134	$437,905	$439,731
Parking Meter Collection	$6,034	$12,251	$11,317	$7,016	$10,755
Property Taxes	$1,437,924	$1,410,178	$1,436,494	$1,455,916	$1,437,689
Payroll Deductions/Contributions	$167,384	$177,145	$218,738	$217,251	$192,307
Replacement Tax	$221,268	$206,069	$193,690	$157,301	$174,627
Sales Tax	$2,205,870	$2,223,348	$2,067,865	$2,071,016	$2,055,500
Sewerage Receipts	$1,354,226	$1,306,726	$1,608,189	$2,182,397	$2,285,634
State Income Tax	$1,146,530	$1,183,425	$1,009,896	$1,009,947	$930,126
Violations	$320	$360	$490	$140	$110
Bond Proceeds	$465,000	-0-	-0-	$620,000	$510,000
Telecommunication Fees	$76,770	$87,965	$62,432	$53,255	$72,761
Loan Proceeds				$1,604,651	$7,590, 947
TOTAL	$9,182,032	$9,599,455	$8,478,256	$10,896,030	$16,945,367

NOTICE LOAN PROCEEDS IN 2003-2004