A little more than halfway through the fiscal year, Navajo County is on track to end the year in the black.
Accounting Manager Paige Peterson updated the board of supervisors during a meeting Tuesday on the county’s financial health. She reported that although sales tax revenues are projected to come in slightly lower than initially anticipated, the receipt of $1.5 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds from the federal government will leave the county with an estimated positive balance of approximately $608,334 at the end of the year.
The projections are based on anticipated revenues and expenditures through the remainder of the year. So far this year, state shared sales tax revenues are expected to come in at 98.58 percent of the total projected amount. The county has collected approximately $5.52 million of the anticipated $10.89 million for the entire fiscal year. County sales tax revenues are projected at a similar rate and are expected to total 98.83 percent of the total projected amount. To date, a total of $4.15 million of the expected $6.74 million has been collected.
Property tax revenues are projected to come in at 100 percent of the total anticipated amount. To date the county has received approximately $4.2 million of the expected $6.8 million.
Other sources of income are also on track or expected to come within two percent of projections, including license and permit fees, court fines and forfeitures.
Expenditures are expected to be less than amounts projected in the 2015 fiscal year budget. Total operating expenditures so far this year are at $5.7 million. Projected operating expenses are $10.6 million and the county predicts that approximately $814,201 of the budgeted amount will not be spent.
Overall, Navajo County expects to take in a total of $34.3 million in revenues and spend a total of $33.7 million over the course of the fiscal year.
In other business Jan. 27, the board:
* Approved a liquor license application for Mogollon Vineyards in the Snowflake area.
* Approved a grant agreement with Delta Dental of Arizona for $21,780 for a coordinator for the Navajo-Apache-Gila County Oral Health Coalition.
* Approved the acceptance of a grant award from the Arizona Department of Homeland Security that will allow for the purchase of incident command boards.
* Approved the expenditure of up to $17,000 in District IV special road funds to repair roadways in the Timberlake Pines Property Owners Association area.
The next regular board meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the county complex in Holbrook.
