Coweta County commissioners on Tuesday adopted the $62.3 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2014 that begins in October.
General fund revenues for the new fiscal year are expected to total $62,341,885. That figure represents an increase of approximately $2.5 million over the current budget period that ends Sept. 30.
The expected increase in revenue is a result of the new legislatively-imposed ad valorem tax methodology on vehicles purchases where 6.5 percent of the cost of the vehicle is added as a one-time tag expense.
County revenues come from a variety of sources, though the largest sources come from property taxes and sales taxes.
County property taxes account for approximately half of revenues. That number for 2014 totals an estimated $31.6 million. The next largest revenue source is sales tax, with 2014 collections expected to total $18.2 million. Also figuring into revenues are fines and forfeitures at $5.3 million and licenses and permits at $3 million.
In terms of expenditures, and as is customary with city and county budgets, law enforcement tends to take the largest slice of the budget pie. Coweta County is no exception, with $11.6 million allocated to the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. An additional $5.7 million is allocated to the jail.
Expenses associated with roads and road construction figure prominently into the budget, with the road department carrying a budget of $3.57 million and road construction with $1.63 million.
Rounding out the large ticket items, the Coweta County Correctional Institution has a budget of $3 million. While significant, those funds are replenished with state dollars for housing prisoners for the Ga. Dept. of Corrections.
The current fiscal year is expected to end with approximately $30 million in fund balance.
