Article Details

City Of Gahanna Presents Second Quarter 2012 Finances to City Council

GAHANNA, Ohio – City of Gahanna finance director, Jennifer Teal, presented the second quarter of 2012 financial review during the City Council committee meeting at City Hall Monday. During this presentation Teal reported revenues and expenses through June, 2012.

Through June 30, 2012, the City has collected $13,290,050 in General Fund revenue. This amount, Teal reported, represents 59.2 percent of the planned General Fund revenue for 2012.

“The local income tax remains Gahanna’s largest source of revenue,” Teal said. “In the second quarter of 2012, it made up 58 percent of the City’s General Fund revenue.”

“While it is always challenging to predict the total income tax revenue for the year, the second quarter data is promising,” Teal said.

Teal reported that withholdings are up 11 percent from the same period in 2011, which supports the idea that Gahanna’s tax base is recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and is indeed growing.

“The continued rise in withholding indicated that there are more people working in Gahanna and paying income tax, people are earning more money and thus paying a larger amount in tax collections, or some combination of the two,” Teal said.

General Fund expenditures for the second quarter for 2012 were $13,945,539. Compared to the total General Funds appropriations, the City has spent 44 percent of appropriated funds.

In March of 2012, the Administration introduced the Community Investment Plan (CIP) to City Council and the public, with the intention of re-investing unspent, unappropriated funds back into the community.

“This plan spans 2012 and 2013 and includes projects and purchases that will improve the City’s capacity to maintain and operate its existing capital infrastructure,” Teal said.

During the second quarter, Council approved a transfer of $2,782,680 to the capital improvement fund that effectively designates the funds for capital purposes as outlined in the Community Investment Plan.

General Fund expenses exceeded revenues by $655,489 in the second quarter of 2012. If not for the transfer to the capital improvement fund (which, for accounting purposes, is listed as an ‘expense’), revenues would have exceeded expenses by $2,127,191.

Gahanna’s local economy is recovering as indicated by the rise in withholding tax collections during the reporting period. While that news is encouraging, there will continue to be revenue issues that will impact Gahanna in the coming years.

For example, 2012 will be the final year for Estate Tax in Ohio. While this particular source of revenue is not one that the City has consistently relied upon, the loss of approximately $300,000 in Estate Tax collections per year will certainly have an impact on the General Fund. Additional declines in revenue include the state reductions in the Local Government fund and continued poor returns on investments.

“In the near-term and beyond, maintaining a conservative fiscal approach while appropriately investing in the City’s capital infrastructure will continue to be crucial for Gahanna,” Teal said.

Doing so will enable the City to continue to provide excellent services to businesses and residents within available resources.