County’s revenue up halfway through fiscal year

Published 9:15 am Tuesday, May 23, 2017

COLUMBIANA – Shelby County’s revenues through six months of the fiscal year are above both budgeted amounts and last year’s figures.

Chief Financial Officer Butch Burbage presented the Shelby County Commission with a six-month financial review at the commission’s meeting on Monday, May 22.

“We’re really comfortable with where we are at the end of six months,” Burbage said.

According to the information provided to commissioners, the county’s general fund revenues are at $39.8 million through six months of the fiscal year, a 0.47-percent increase over the budgeted amount of $39.6 million and a 3.3-percent increase over revenues of $38.5 million for the same time period in 2016.

“In accounting terms, that’s just about as close as you’re going to get,” Burbage said when comparing the budgeted to actual amounts.

Highway Department revenues were also up over budgeted and 2016 amounts.

Highway revenue was reported at $12.3 million, a 1.1-percent increase over the budgeted amount of $12.2 million and a 1.9-percent increase over the $12.1 million revenue from the same time period in 2016.

Year-to-date revenues from proprietary funds, including water services and environmental services, were also above budgeted and 2016 amounts.

Total proprietary funds revenue was reported at about $10 million, compared to the budgeted amount of $7.6 million (an increase of about 30.4 percent) and the 2016 amount of $7.1 million (an increase of about 40.6 million).

Commissioners Tommy Edwards, Rick Shepherd and Mike Vest were absent from the meeting.

In other business, the commission:

-Approved an alcohol beverage license to Mt Laurel La Paz.

-Approved appointments to the Chilton Shelby Mental Health Board: Lindsey Allison, Elwyn Bearden, Ed Carter, Jim Fuhrmeister and Alex Dudchock. The commission also resolved that Kathlyn Lathion be thanked and recognized for her time on the board.

-Awarded a bid for Highway Department erosion control to the only responsive bidder.

-Heard from Dudchcok that 1,088 RSVPs have been received thus far for the Shelby County Senior Picnic. “This will be our largest Senior Picnic to date out of 15,” Dudchock said.

-Approved ALDOT contracts for proposed bike lanes along John Findlay Drive at Oak Mountain State Park from the north trailhead to the Alabama 119 park entrance, and for a project to resurface, level, patch, plane and add guardrail end anchors and permanent traffic striping along U.S. 31 from 200 feet north of Shelby County 26 to the Bishop Creek Bridge.