Financial forecast better than anticipated for Columbia County budget

DAYTON—County Treasurer Carla Rowe presented the third-quarter financial statement to the Board of Columbia County Commissioners last week.

She provided them with the following predictions based on various sources, including the Dept. of Revenue, the Municipal Research and Services Center, and webinars regarding banking environments, investment bond market, and government publications.

Financial recovery from the COVID-19 impact to counties is not expected to occur until the latter part of next year.

Sales tax states, like Washington, are likely to remain below prior revenue peaks but underperform less than income tax states. Sales tax receipts during the second half of 2021 could be close to normal.

Internet sales are important. Cities with malls and regional stores have been hardest-hit.

Property tax is the most stable form of revenue. The commercial sector is the most at risk. The tourism sector is the hardest hit. Agriculture based communities have not been hit as hard.

Rowe provided the following third-quarter report:

Current Expense Cash and Investments totaled $2,141,575 at the end of September This includes annual transfers totaling $770,000 and represents 58% of the budgeted amount. By comparison, the Current Expense Cash and Investments totaled $2,140,309 in the third quarter of 2019.

Rowe said 46% of the Current Expense Budget comes from property tax collection. 15-percent comes from Local Government Financial Assistance (LGFA), otherwise known as city-county assistance. The county will receive $543,760, from the LGFA, in 2021.

Twelve percent of the Current Expense Budget is from Federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). Rowe said the county might not receive the $386,000 calculated for 2020, which is concerning.

Eleven percent of the Current Budget is from Sales Tax, and 11-percent is from Law and Justice. 5% is from miscellaneous fees such as departmental fees, timber tax, and liquor tax.

For the Year 2020 the county has collected around $700,000 in sales tax revenue. Internet sales tax is helping.

Revenue in the third quarter has benefitted from the addition of CARES Act grant funding.

Rowe said the interest rate on bank accounts is fairly low.

The interest rate from Washington Federal Bank is .100%, .21% at the Bank of Oregon, and 2.9% at HomeStreet Bank. The Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) rate has varied over the third quarter from .2196% to .1858%, ending the quarter at .1915%.

The term for a US Bank Bond invested in 2019 ends in January.

Debt through General Obligation Bonds is coming due in December on a Public Works building interest payment, and a Solid Waste building final payment is also coming due.

“The forecast is not as bad as we thought it would be,” Rowe told the commissioners. 

She discussed the loss of sales tax revenue due to the state’s Renewable Energy Sales Tax exemptions for big construction projects.

For instance, the county has refunded a little over $1.4 million back to the state for the 2019 Marengo Wind Farm Refurbish Project. Columbia County Public Transportation also refunded money back to the state for a combined total of $1.8 million.

The last refund payment was in September So far, there have been no additional refunding requests.

Since 2013 almost 7 million has been refunded back to the state for construction projects that have renewable energy tax exemptions, Rowe said.