FORT SMITH — Sebastian County in 2021 is ahead of where it was in previous years in terms of general fund revenue.
County Judge David Hudson said Tuesday during a mid-year budget review for the Quorum Court as of June 30, the county had received 47% of what it estimated for general fund revenue for the year.
That’s a higher percentage than what the county got by the same point the past nine years in terms of received revenue vs. estimates, and 5% more than what it took in by June 30, 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic was in full swing.
Hudson said he believes the county has seen “somewhat of a bounceback” in the economy.
“It means that we’re being careful and we’re being conservative and we’re getting more in perhaps than what we thought we would, which is how we want to see it end up,” Hudson said.
Total year-to-date revenue through June 30 was $11,118,943, about $1.3 million more than it was at the same point in 2020.
Hudson said property and sales taxes are the two largest revenue sources for the general fund. While property tax revenue normally comes in the fall, the county’s sales tax revenue has surpassed the county’s projections for this point in the year and what it received during the same period in 2020.
The county received $1,969,215 in sales tax revenue from January through June 2020, according to Hudson. The county had received $2,270,901 in sales taxes against a projected $1,884,005 through June of this year.
Steve Hotz, the county’s treasurer and collector, said Wednesday he attributed the $301,686 increase in sales tax to the federal stimulus checks residents received during the covid-19 pandemic, as well as online shopping during the same time. He also said people being home during the pandemic caused them to spend “a lot of money” on home improvements. This revenue comes from Sebastian County’s 1% sales tax.
Arkansas began requiring all online sellers to collect and remit state and local sales taxes in 2019. The requirement previously applied only to sellers with a physical presence in the state.
Hudson also noted the property reappraisal cycle changed from three years to five in 2011. This is the first year of the current five-year cycle, with the county to receive the property taxes from the reappraisal from the end of the previous cycle this year.
County Assessor Zach Johnson on Wednesday said the county will see “a small increase across the board” in property tax revenue because of the 2020 reappraisal.
Another increase in revenue this year came from housing state inmates for the Arkansas Department of Corrections at the Sebastian County Jail, Hudson said.
The county this year through June 30 had received $695,466 from holding state inmates — an increase of $37,206, or 5.6%, from the same point in 2020. Hudson said the county actually had projected revenue of only $440,000 from holding state inmates.
Drew Smith, Sebastian County criminal justice coordinator, said the 356-bed jail had 121 Department of Corrections inmates as of Wednesday. The county gets $32 per day for each of the inmates it houses for the state. The total jail population was 371 inmates.
Hudson, however, noted reductions in how much the county has received this year from housing U.S. Marshals Service and city inmates. The county received $95,386 from the Marshals Service through June 30, down from $132,097 at the same point in 2020. The 2021 estimate for this revenue source is listed at $350,000.
The Fort Smith Police Department launched initiatives in 2020 to divert people from the jail. This includes the department’s Pre-Arrest Diversion Program and Crisis Intervention Unit, as well as an arrangement with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office allowing the department to take those arrested solely on intoxication offenses to the Crawford County Jail.
Police Chief Danny Baker last month told the Sebastian County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, a group dedicated to finding ways to reduce the jail population and improve the criminal justice system, the Police Department sent 269 such people to Crawford County in 2020 and 106 between January and March of this year.
Hudson said this will not be a major financial issue for the county, citing its revenue from the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Smith said the county gets $60 per day for each U.S. Marshals Service inmate it holds and $55.79 per day for city inmates. It costs $55.18 per day to house an inmate at the jail.
County budget expenses are also on target for midyear 2021, according to Hudson. The county had expended 48% of its general fund budget as of June 30, slightly above the 47% it reportedly spent by the same point in both 2019 and 2020.
Unobligated balance
The Sebastian County general fund’s unobligated balance was $92,876 as of June 30. A customary earmark of $50,000 for projected miscellaneous year-end appropriations brings that total down to $42,876.
Source: County Judge David Hudson
Thomas Saccente can be reached by email at tsaccente@ nwadg.com .