Finance Committee

City of Rome FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING May 1, 2024 PRESENT: Committee Chairman Jim Bojo City Commissioner Jamie Doss City Commissioner Wayne Robinson City Manager Sammy Rich Assistant City Manager Meredith Ulmer Finance Director Toni Rhinehart Assistant Finance Director Kraig Ingalsbe Recording Secretary Vicki Blair Guests: Doug Walker, Public Relations David Crowder, Rome News Tribune Committee Chairman Bojo called the meeting to order and approved the minutes from the March 4, 2024 meeting by common consent. He then turned the meeting over to Finance Director Toni Rhinehart who began reviewing the Unaudited December 2023 Financial Statements. GENERAL FUND: Current Year Taxes were collected at approximately 95% and current taxes are up from 2022. Title Tax Fee Revenues have continued to increase as well. Local Option Sales Tax and Insurance Premium Tax are over budget and above 2022. The Georgia Power franchise tax is up from 2022 by approximately $70,000. Business licenses and facility rental fees are in line with 2022. Housing Authority PILOT is up from 2022 and slightly above budget. Police Fines as well as Red Speed Fines are up from 2022. Interest on Investments is $659,000 which is a huge bright spot and is staying consistent. Operating Revenues are above 2022. Most General Fund departments are within budget this year. Public Safety expenses are up from 2022 but under budget for the year mostly due to the current officer shortage. Public Works departments overall are under budget but over 2022. The Georgia Power fees for street lighting is most of the expense. Some Public Facility departments are also above budget mostly due to large repairs and maintenance. WATER FUND: Most revenues are down from 2022 as expected with the settlement requiring the reduction in rates. There are some revenue sources that increased. Interest Income is up from 2022 and it is anticipated the interest will be significantly more which will help offset the decrease in revenues caused by the rate reduction. Some departments are slightly above budget in operating expenses. Bond coverage remains strong due to substantial reductions in existing debt. BUILDING INSPECTION: Building Inspection revenues are down from 2022. Both city and county permits are down from 2022 and expenditures have increased. TRANSIT FUND: Free ridership is continuing from late 2021 into this year. General discussion was had regarding the revenue sources and expenses for the Transit Fund. 1 BID FUND: Property tax revenues collections were below 2022 but near budget. TOURISM FUND: Tourism is mostly funded through hotel/motel tax. The Tourism Fund includes the History Center which brings in consistent rental revenue. FIRE FUND: Revenues are slightly over budget. Operating expenses include mostly personal services and were above 2022 but within 2023 budget. HOTEL/MOTEL TAX FUND: Hotel Motel taxes were down for 2023. There has been a slight decrease in taxes with the reduction in number of hotel rooms. INSURANCE: Insurance claims continue to increase since 2022 which resulted in a negative net position. WORKERS COMP: Revenues and claims are in line with prior years. TAD FUND: TAD 2 pays off in 2024 and that property value and property taxes will roll to General Fund in 2025. The TAD financing in TAD 4 appears to be in line to payoff early with collections ahead of projections. ENTITLEMENT FUND: The Floyd Training Center renovation was a highlighted project for 2023. This fund also includes the Banty Jones Park renovation that are underway. GOLF FUND The debt associated with the Stonebridge Golf course pays off in August 2024. PARKING FUND: Parking revenues have not been enough to sustain the expenses in this fund in the last couple of years. A contribution was required from General Fund to ensure a positive cash balance at the end of the year. Ideas are still being discussed regarding a parking plan going forward. SPLOST FUND: A small amount of revenue was received in 2023 but it was for 2022 so no revenue is showing for 2023. Some of the larger projects for 2023 were for infrastructure and the beginning of the ECO Center project as well as expenses in the Art District. LANDFILL FUND: All of the entries are not in for the Landfill Depletion. Revenues are up from 2022 and there has recently been a fee increase. PLANNING COMMISSION FUND: Revenues and expenses are slightly above 2022 but below budget. LAND BANK AUTHORITY: Several projects are underway. Property taxes are now being collected on the sold properties. 2 TENNIS CENTER: The Tennis Center gets 25% of hotel/motel tax collections. An additional transfer was required to support tournament activity in 2023. FORUM FUND: Operations and renovations of the Forum began in late 2023. A transfer from excess hotel/motel taxes was made to assist with the renovation expenses. More expenses are anticipated in 2024 to also be funded in this manner. CAPITAL FUND: Revenues include the receipt of 2023 LMIG capital money from the state. All general fund equipment is accounted for in this fund. A list of projects is included in the Financial Statements in detail. The next Finance Committee meeting was tentatively re-scheduled to 4:00 on June 10th and will include a 2023 budget revision discussion as required by the Georgia State Department of Audits. With no further discussion and no other items to review, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Vicki Blair 3