With a new year comes a new budget demand that every district has to proclaim. In every county around the lake, sales tax rose surprisingly sharply in the course of 2020, as there was a high influx of tourism in the summer, while many neighboring states tightened their COVID restrictions. Camden County took a look at where its income and expenses will be in 2021. Here’s what you need to know:
revenues
Camden County’s 2021 budget currently lists expected revenue at $ 62,728,967. These revenues are divided into different domains, with the highest revenues coming from intergovernmental revenues. According to the data provided, these revenues are government reimbursements for the cost of prison placement, detention of juveniles, property appraisal and enforcement actions for child support. These reimbursements are earmarked at the state level and have been reduced significantly in recent years. The county also receives distributions from state-wide fuel taxes, state vehicle sales tax, and state vehicle registration fees.
Another important source of income is the district’s sales tax mentioned above. District data says sales tax is for the specific purpose of road and infrastructure, law enforcement, and 911 / emergency management. Sales tax is inherently more volatile than other sources of income, which leads the county to list this source on a conservative basis.
Here is the full list of the earnings listed and the expected amount:
Interstate $ 18,492,500
Sales Tax $ 12,170,000
Tax pass by $ 11,329,688
Other income $ 8,999,106
Fees $ 6,184,095
Property tax $ 4,355,000
Refunds $ 1,167,369
Interest $ 28,584
NOT $ 2,625
expenditure
While the county’s many sources of income can be summarized into a somewhat simple list, the county’s spending is enormous. However, it currently reports a total of over $ 1 million below the $ 61,377,095 sales limit. Three main areas of the county make up a large part of the spending list.
General government spending is highest on this list. The county explains these costs as follows: “The county offers a variety of services, including keeping records (real estate transactions and marriage certificates); Package assignment; Valuation of real estate and personal property for tax purposes; Collection, distribution and reporting of property taxes for all tax authorities in the county; Voter registration and elections; Information technology support; Human resources; Planning and zoning; Sewage; Purchasing; District health department; GIS; Accounting and financial reporting; Budgeting as well as treasury and investment management. “
The second highest spending is the county-funded public facilities like fire and rescue services, emergency shelters, schools, and more. This includes the funding for LEST, which is the partial funding for the prosecutor, sheriff and corrections along with E-911, the public administrator, the 26th judicial court and juvenile detention center, and various alternative sentencing programs. The district offers medical examination services through a contract with an external service provider.
One area that only represents the fourth highest spend on the list is road and bridge costs. Of course, at $ 7.9 million, that’s the cash for the 900-mile-long road infrastructure made up of paved and unpaved roads around Camden County. This budgeting has in the past led to problems with insufficient funds for the department.
Here is the full list of expenses and the estimated amount of expenses:
State $ 19,974,360
Other public entities $ 18,644,357
LEST Sheriff, corrections, judicial $ 12,815,330
Road and Bridge $ 7,983,081
Discretionary $ 1,366,111
Debt service $ 593,856