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Onslow County finance director reports midyear collections, accounting change for EMS revenue
Summary
The county reported approximately $144 million collected as of Dec. 31 and a change in EMS revenue recognition that reduces reported sales and services by roughly $4 million for the year.
Kevin Patterson, Onslow County’s finance presenter, told commissioners on Feb. 3 that as of Dec. 31 the county had collected about $144 million and that, as of Jan. 15, the Tax Department had received roughly $121 million of current-year property taxes.
Patterson reported sales-tax collections were about $1.3 million higher than the same point last year and that motor-vehicle tax collections contributed an additional $6 million in the most recent reporting. He said overall collections are tracking to budget and that expenditures by function are currently under budget.
Patterson described an accounting-method change for EMS revenue recognition. Previously the county had booked EMS revenues on a full-accrual basis; the finance office reverted EMS reporting to a modified-accrual (cash-based) approach because collection rates are concentrated in the 90–120 day window and private-pay uncollectibles are significant. He said that change results in approximately a $4 million difference in revenue recognition for the reporting period and provides what he described as a clearer picture of EMS cash flows.
Patterson said the county expects a small spike in collections around the typical publication periods at the end of February and early March and reiterated that salary-study costs have not been fully recognized in the current numbers because those costs would be reflected for roughly six months of the fiscal year. He also said the department is still awaiting an actuarial study for other post-employment benefits that will be used to finalize government-wide financial statements.
No formal action was requested of the board; Patterson said draft financial statements for fiscal 2024 have been prepared for technical review and that staff expect to finalize actuarial inputs in February.
