County finance director reports fiscal-year snapshot: revenues near budget, audit figures show fund balance after school allocation

Alleghany County officials presented a fiscal-year snapshot on July 21 showing revenues near the approved budget and expenditures finishing slightly higher, with the county closing the year with an operating shortfall before some expected receipts.

The county’s reported year-to-date revenue was $20,932,569.48, which county staff said represents 98% of the approved general-fund budget for the fiscal year. Year-to-date expenditures were $21,194,824.69, or about 99% of the approved general-fund budget. The presenter said the county’s checking account balance that morning was $5,805,522.21 and that a public savings account for Sparta wastewater plant distribution held $12,416,273.91; another represented bank balance shown was $14,393,913.18.

County staff said the net financial position for the fiscal year at that point was a deficit of $262,255.21, but additional receipts (including May sales tax and a further month of sales-tax allocation) were expected to reduce that gap.

The county previously appropriated $1.5 million to a new high school in the current fiscal year and had also taken on a $6,849,000 loan. County staff calculated an estimated fund balance tied to those decisions of $13,610,128; after accounting for other current-year budget allocations of $664,869 used to balance the budget, the staff estimate for the fund balance was $12,945,259.

Local sales tax receipts through May totaled $1,319,538.58 for the fiscal year, ahead of the prior-year comparison by roughly $100,000; local-option sales tax through May totaled $367,718.77 and was also slightly ahead year over year.

Commissioners asked for clarification on sales-tax trends and thanked staff for the report. No new appropriations or budget amendments beyond those already on the agenda were proposed during the presentation.