The Selma Times-Journal

An analysis of City of Selma tax revenues indicates sales tax income, lodging taxes and ad valorem tax receipts are slightly down, while funds for business license fees are up, according to figures recently released by the treasurer’s office.

Even though revenues are running behind, City Treasurer Cynthia Mitchell warned it was “too early in the year” to draw any conclusions.

The City’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 31 each year. The Selma Times-Journal issued a written request for the data for a comparative analysis.

A comparison of business license fees indicates $1,783,254 has been collected through January 2007 in FY07, an increase of 17 percent over the same period last year.

The license fees collected through the first four months of FY06 totaled $1,485,754. In FY05, the total collected through the first four months was $105,969, according to the data.

The total collected in business license fees was $2,284,448 in FY 06, and $2,171,076 collected in FY05.

Through January 2007, the city collected $88,910 in lodging tax, compared to $118,751 collected this time last year – about a 25.2 percent decrease over the previous year after one third of the year. There was $100,190 collected in FY05. The total collected in FY06 was $345,524 and $308,609 collected in FY05.

The city has collected $3,838,846 in sales tax revenue through the first four months of FY07, compared to $4,043,579 in FY06, about a 6 percent decrease over the previous year. At this point in FY05, $3,896,594 had been collected, the data indicates.

The Selma City Board of Education gets 5 percent of the sales tax revenue toward its operating expenses, city officials said. In FY06, the total in sales tax collected was $11,576,806, and $11,238,177 in FY05.

Of the 27 mills in ad valorem taxes collected, the City of Selma gets 7.8. The Selma City Board of Education gets 11.8, and 7.4 goes directly to a bond fund.

Ad valorem taxes collected through January 2007 totaled $839,572, about 2.7 percent less than the $853,846 collected at this point in FY06. In FY05, through January 2006, there was $836,465 collected in ad valorem taxes, according to the data.

The total collected in ad valorem taxes in FY06 was $936,021, and $933,125 collected in FY05.

Mitchell said her office monitors income and expenditures, and would point out specific problematic trends. She said the city’s finances are “in good shape.”

“Even if revenue doesn’t exceed expenses, we still have a good cash position,” Mitchell said. “Each budget category has a cash reserve. I don’t see any reason to be concerned.”

Mitchell said the city’s budget is developed each year between July and August and is based on the actual revenues from the previous year.