Revenues appear to have rebounded, but Navajo County is still facing an estimated $75,018 shortfall at this point in the fiscal year.

Estimates provided by the county show that projected revenues through the end of the fiscal year are $31,015,628, while projected expenditures are $31,090,647. Despite the red ink projections, revenues have improved dramatically over the last few months.

State shared revenues are now 3.19 percent above projections, thanks to massive increases in both February and April. Revenues for February were 17.14 percent above projections, while in April they are estimated to be 14 percent above projections. March also saw positive gains, with state shared revenues 8.14 percent above expectations.

February’s unexpected boom put the shared sales tax totals nearly at 2007-08 levels. In 2007-08, the county received $999,797 in state shared revenue. In 2008-09, that total dropped to $865,942, and in 2009-10 it dipped even more to $819,751. This February, however, the revenues rebounded to $960,296.

Similar results are expected for April, with the county expecting about $65,000 less than in 2007-08. In 2007-08, April revenues were $807,272, in 2008-09 collections totaled $696,623 and in 2009-10, they were $651,242. This fiscal year April totals are predicted at $742,734.

County sales tax revenues have also surged, and are now 4.93 percent above predicted amounts. Like state shared revenues, February marked a significant turning point, with $619,742 collected, compared to $469,094 the previous fiscal year. The total for February 2007-08 was $632,336, while in 2008-09, county sales tax collections were $514,129.

County revenues from the vehicle license tax continue to come in at lower levels than predicted, but the gap is closing. At the start of February, the revenues were 4.46 percent less than expected, and now they are at 1.3 percent below predictions.

There was no surge in February as in the other revenue sources, but January, March and April totals were higher than last fiscal year.

Overall, county officials are predicting that by the end of this fiscal year, state shared revenues and county sales taxes, along with other taxes, will come in at 104.72 percent of the projected total.