County budget brighter than expected

LIMA - National economic news might be bad, but that doesn't appear to be keeping Allen County residents from spending.

Allen County Auditor Rhonda Eddy presented on Thursday the county's financial statements for the first quarter of 2008. Among the surprises was an increase in sales tax revenue of more than $338,000 compared with the same period last year. That number represents 1 percent of sales in the county during the last quarter of 2007, which covers October through December. The increase, along with a considerable carryover from 2007 and $400,000 shifted from the county port authority to the general fund, gave the county a positive start for the year.

"Overall, if you look at the revenue, particularly the sales tax, it's better than I expected," Eddy said. "Even with all the encumbrances, we're still better off than we were in the first half of last year."

The numbers received a big boost from a $3.4 million carryover from last year. That was an increase of more than $1 million compared with the previous year carryover. Still, the numbers, particularly the increase in sales tax, gave the commissioners cause for optimism.

"I think it shows that all the doom and gloom surrounding us really hasn't shown up here," said Commissioner Sam Bassitt. "It also illustrates the efforts we've made as a community to show we have a strong economy,"

The numbers weren't all good.

Property taxes were down $30,000 compared to last year. Local government funds dipped by $91,000. And charges for services dropped by $275,000, much of which was attributed to a reduction in property transfer fees.

"Less people are buying homes. That means fewer transfer fees for the county. Those start to add up," Eddy said.

At the same time, the county's spending increased by almost $350,000 compared to the previous year. That included an additional $101,000 in salaries and benefits and $170,000 in contracts and services. One large part of that comes from the added expense of this year's primary election, which put an extra $975,000 strain on the budget.

Commissioners said they put together a conservative budget for the year. Good news aside, they plan on staying that course.

"It gives us more confidence to continue to move as conservatively as we have," said Commissioner Dan Reiff. "It's holding better than we anticipated."