From the Lafayette Journal & Courier:
There are no crystal balls for revenue predictions, but a recent forecast reviewed by Tippecanoe County officials hints that the next few years might be a little leaner than 2013.
“If we look at the year-to-date numbers, we’re overall OK. Just OK,” Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said. “But there are some areas where the shortfalls are fairly significant.
Murtaugh and other members of the county’s revenue committee met Thursday morning to review the forecast revenue and expenses for 2014 through 2016. The other members are county Auditor Jennifer Weston, Treasurer Bob Plantenga and county Councilman Andy Gutwein.
Together they pored over the analysis prepared by the county’s financial adviser, Greg Guerrettaz of Financial Solutions Group.
With half the year in the rearview mirror, the county has collected just 40 percent of the $1.1 million it expected from the Department of Correction for housing its inmates. Next year, the predictions are this revenue stream will shrink by 10 percent compared with 2013’s projected revenue.
“We’re already seeing a decline this year because we haven’t had a full house,” Weston said, referring to the Tippecanoe County Jail.
There are other signs from this year’s collections that revenues may be off next year.
“We’re kind of falling behind in collections for probations,” Murtaugh said. “The clerk’s filing fees are down. That means that fewer people are filing cases. That may be a good thing.
“But the estimated revenues are certainly down. Those are always a concern.”
A known shortfall for 2014 is the inheritance tax. It goes away in 2014. That tax generated $372,870 for county coffers in 2012. For now, though, the inheritance tax already has surpassed last year’s budgeted forecast of $100,000. The county has collected $151,290 so far this year.
While $100,000 budgeted for inheritance tax revenue is minute, the county will have to find revenue to offset the loss with another revenue stream in what is typically a tight budget.
The 2014 revenue forecast also braces for a 5 percent loss in money generated from gambling establishments in the state and a 2 percent loss in 2015. The dip in gambling revenue is attributed to competition from casinos in Illinois and Ohio that are expected to siphon away gamblers from Indiana horse tracks and casinos.
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See the full article here:
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013306270032
