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By EMILY SPARACINO | Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The Shelby County Commission reviewed preliminary budget projections for the upcoming fiscal year at a regular meeting on Monday, July 25.

“As you all know, we get very deep this time of year into the budget,” Shelby County Manager Chad Scroggins said. “We have projected revenues that we’re going to hand to you tonight.”

Shelby County Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Naugher discussed the projected revenue numbers she and her team have compiled for Fiscal Year 2023.

Regarding property tax revenue for real property, Naugher said the budget number for 2023 could exceed the proposed $18.9 million.

“This year, we actually have collected more than we budgeted for last year,” Naugher said, directing commissioners’ attention to the other revenue numbers, including about $16.5 million for actuals in 2021, $16.8 million for the revised budget in 2022 and $17.2 for the actual projection in 2022. “If you go down to the property maintenance appraisal budget, that’s the state-approved budget that Mr. (Don) Armstrong sends in.”

Naugher said the county uses a three-year average for sales tax revenue, which puts the county’s sales and use tax proposed budget at about $18.3 million for 2023, compared to about $19.8 million for actuals in 2021, $20.9 million for the revised budget in 2022 and $20.7 million for the actual projection in 2022.

Naugher said she calculated a five-year average for the mortgage and deed tax to get a proposed budget of $1.7 million for 2023.

“I’m expecting maybe with the higher interest rates for that to go possibly down from what we collected this year,” Naugher said.

She noted what she called a significant increase in the simplified sellers use tax revenue from online sales. The proposed budget for 2023 is $3.8 million, compared to about $3.8 million for actuals in 2021, $1.2 million for the revised budget in 2022 and $4.8 million in the actual projection for 2022.

Regarding the general fund total, Naugher said the county’s 2023 proposed budget, about $74.6 million, is about $5.4 million less than what is projected as the actual revenues of about $80 million for this year.

Other highlights from the FY 2023 revenue projections include the following:

• Tax assessors fees – $2.8 million (2021 actuals), $2.9 million (2022 revised budget), $3 million (2022 actual projection) and $3 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Tax collectors fees – $2.8 million (2021 actuals), $2.9 million (2022 revised budget), $3 million (2022 actual projection) and $3 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Housing of federal inmates – $816,000 (2021 actuals), $744,000 (2022 revised budget), $884,000 (2022 actual projection) and $775,000 (2023 proposed budget).

• Inmate healthcare – $1.4 million (2021 actuals), $1.3 million (2022 revised budget), $1.2 million (2022 actual projection) and $1.2 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Airport total – $1.1 million (2021 actuals), $1 million (2022 revised budget), $1.3 million (2022 actual projection) and $1.5 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Shelby County grant total – $1.8 million (2021 actuals), $653,000 (2022 revised budget), $1 million (2022 actual projection) and $706,000 (2023 proposed budget).

• Promotional account total – $2.6 million (2021 actuals), $2.5 million (2022 revised budget), $3.3 million (2022 actual projection) and $2.5 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Gasoline tax fund (7 cent) total – $6.2 million (2021 actuals), $3.4 million (2022 revised budget), $4.2 million (2022 actual projection) and $3.5 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Road and bridge fund total – $9.3 million (2021 actuals), $9.5 million (2022 revised budget), $9.7 million (2022 actual projection) and $10.2 million (2023 proposed budget).

• County government capital improvement fund total – $877,000 (2021 actuals), $777,000 (2022 revised budget), $900,000 (2022 actual projection) and $275,000 (2023 proposed budget).

• Coronavirus Rescue Act total – $21 million (2021 actuals, 2022 revised budget and 2022 actual projection).

• Landfill total – $6.5 million (2021 actuals), $6 million (2022 revised budget), $6.7 million (2022 actual projection) and $6 million (2023 proposed budget).

• Water services total – $14.5 million (2021 actuals), $12.5 million (2022 revised budget), $13.6 million (2022 actual projection) and $13.1 million (2023 proposed budget).

“This is where we have to balance back to the actual projected revenues, so this is the tough part,” Scroggins said of the budgeting process. “Our goal is always to try to approve the budget at the first meeting in September, but having the second meeting in September to make sure that we meet that deadline before the budget goes into effect Oct. 1.”

In other business, the Commission:

• Approved and adopted Civil Service Policy and Procedures revisions and administrative updates effective Aug. 1.

• Approved to authorize the county manager to approve unused working day reallocation requests when submitted by the Board of Registrars by pay period on behalf of the Shelby County Commission.

• Appointed John Yancey to the 911 Board to replace Mark Bray.