City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 3, 2015
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of the Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending April 30, 2015.
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ISSUE: Receipt of the Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending April 30, 2015.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council receives the Monthly Financial Report (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND: The following discussion is a summary of the Monthly Financial Report for this period. The complete report is attached.
Both General Fund revenues and expenditures track similarly to previous months in the 2015 fiscal year. Slow revenue growth due to the regional economic slowdown continues to be a concern that staff carefully monitors. At the end of April, with two remaining months in the 2015 fiscal year, City General Fund revenues are still projected to come in below the amount budgeted. However, the amount of expenditure savings currently projected for year-end is expected to be sufficient to keep expenditures below projected revenues and therefore the City's budget is in balance. Staff will continue to monitor this and adjust expenditures as necessary. In the attached statements of revenues and expenditures, bond refunding proceeds and expenses are included in April, however they have been excluded from the body of the report in the current year and prior years due to amounts and timing varying from year-to-year and therefore distort revenue and expenditure analysis.
As of April 30, 2015, ten months into the fiscal year, General Fund revenues totaled $432.9 million, or 66.8% of the budgeted revenue which is 2.9% above the four-year average of revenue received. After adjusting to exclude debt proceeds received through the bond refinancing, the City revenues are 2.4% below the four year average. Property taxes have not changed materially since last month. The next significant collections for property tax will occur in June when the first-half real property taxes are due. Revenue projections continue to remain consistent with the previous forecast. Noticeable variances in revenues including Business License, Communication Sales and Use, Real Estate Recordation, Admissions, Other Local Taxes, Revenue from the Fed. Government, Revenue from the Commonwealth, Fines and Forfeitures, License and Permits, Revenue from Use of Money and Property, and Other Revenue are detailed in the Revenue section of the report.
As of April 30, 2015, General Fund expenditures totaled $495.0 million, or 76.4% of budgeted expenditures. After adjusting for expenditures related to the bond refinancing, the City has spent 2.7% more than the four-year average. Personnel expenditures are 4.4% lower than the four-year average percent of budget spent to date, whereas non-personnel expenditures are 4.4% more than the average. Overall, expenditures are still expected to come in below budget, as well as below the revenue projection.
The economic indicator highlighted in this month's report is the unemployment rate. Additional economic, revenue, and expenditure charts are also available on the City of Alexandria website at: alexandriava.gov/FinancialReports. Attached are General Fund revenue and expenditure tables produced by the Finance Department.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending April 30, 2015
STAFF:
Laura Triggs, Deputy City Manager
Morgan Routt, Acting Director, OMB
Kendel Taylor, Director, Finance Department
Martina Alexander, Budget/Management Analyst, OMB
Alyssa Ha, Budget/Management Analyst, OMB
Berenice Harris, Acting Comptroller, Finance Department