2012-13 Budget Primer: The General Fund

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As promised, this is the next installment on the Oro Valley Town Budget. The source of our information on the budget is the town published: "Town Manager's Recommended Budget FY 2012-2013".
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The Oro Valley Town Budget is very large and complex (320 pages). So, we will begin our analysis of the budget by focusing on components that are somewhat readily  “understandable and “digestible”.

We stated in our first budget primer that the General Fund ("Operating Fund")is the primary source of expenditures for many of the town's operating departments. So, our analysis will start there.

The following operating departments are 100% fully funded by General Fund (Operating Fund):

• Town Council (FY2013 - $224,618)
• Town Manager (FY2013 - $728,648) Excludes Economic Development in FY2013)
• Human Resources (FY2013 - $496,156)
• Information Technology (FY2013 – $1,213,633)
• The "General Administration Category" of the general fund is not a department. It is a catch-all account for some overhead costs that are not allocated to departments for things such as utility cost and general liability insurance.  This account is also used to pass-through funds from the general fund to other funds such as debt service ($135, 324) and capital projects ($30,000). This category is also the place where the savings ($583,413) from the transfer of the library to Pima County resides.

 The following departments receive some of their funding from the General Fund.

• The Legal department receives the bulk of its funds from the General Fund ($801,559).    It is expected that the legal department will receive some State Funds ($15,000) as well.
• The Finance Department receives the bulk of its funds from the General Fund ($644,111).  It is expected that the finance department will receive Sales Tax Audit Recovery Fees ($100.000) as well.
• The Magistrate Court renders services that are governed by rules set by the Arizona Supreme Court and guided by statutes enacted by the Arizona Legislature.  It receives about 50% of its funding from the General Fund ($363,629). It recovers about 50% from Court Costs ($200,000), Public Defender Fees ($4,000), and Fines ($190,000).
• The Town Clerk Department is the centralized information distribution point for our citizens, Town Council and Staff. It receives about 46% of its funding from the General Fund ($149,139). It recovers about 54% from Licenses and Permits ($171,140) and Copy services ($2,500).
• The Police Department receives a total of $12,715,406 dollars. About $12,014,503 from the General Fund while $700,903 comes from other sources such as Federal and State Grants, Impound Processing and Report Copying. 
• The Parks and Recreation (and Library and Cultural Res) receives a total of $2,760,300 dollars. About $1,761,887 dollars from the general fund while $998,413 comes from other sources such as Swim Pool Fees, Electricity User Fees, Miscellaneous User Fees, JDK Park Contribution and State Grants.
• The Development/Infrastructure Department has two major sections: Development receives a total of $2,240,822. About $1,218,793 comes from the General Fund. About $1,022,029 is recovered from other sources such as Residential and Commercial Permits, Energy Efficiency and Grant, zoning and subdivision Fees and Engineering Plan Review Fees, Sign Permits.  Infrastructure receives a total of $3,669,829. About $2,480,005 comes from the Highway Fund (Gas Taxes). About $1,189,824 is recovered from other sources such as Construction sales taxes, State Grants, Charges for services (storm water), and Licenses and Permits.

We plan to post an additional six installments of our budget analysis. We will post these each Monday through July 30.  
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