County ends 2010 in the black

The Jackson County government finished FY2010 $117,200 in the black in its General Fund, pushing the county’s general reserves up to nearly $10 million. Of that, $5.3 million is unassigned.

In all of its funds, the county government spent $78 million last year. Nearly one-third of the spending was for debt service. The county spent $24.7 million on servicing its debt in 2010, almost as much as it spent in its General Fund operations.

In revenues, the county’s largest source of income was property taxes at $24.4 million and sales taxes at $13.7 million.

In expenses, the county’s largest area of expense was in public safety at $23.3 million. Public safety spending increased by $1 million over the previous year, mostly due to additional jail employees and renovations at the county correctional institute, according to the audit.

Among other highlights in the audit were:

• The county’s waste disposal facility lost $500,000 in 2010 as fees didn’t meet expenses. The operation is subsidized from general tax revenues.
• The county’s 10 fire districts took in $2.2 million last year and at the end of the year, had a collective $1.9 million fund balance. Arcade was the only fire district with a negative fund balance.
• The county’s net tax digest doubled from 2001 to 2010, from $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion.
• The county’s largest taxpayer was Southern Power Company which paid $460,000 in 2010. The second largest was JEMC which paid $277,200 in property taxes.
• Total county debt was $127 million at the end of 2010, which on a per capita basis was $2,115 per person.