County nets a surplus during the year of the pandemic

Despite a worldwide pandemic and an economy that crashed early in the year and later struggled at times, Ozaukee County’s coffers finished 2020 with a larger surplus than even the most optimistic forecast. 

“The general fund had a good year overall,” county Finance Director Jay McMahon reported to the Finance Committee last week. “As of preparing this report, the general fund has a surplus of $1.374 million, which is up from the $992,506 I reported last month for the year ending December 31, 2020.”

The increased surplus is due primarily to “a couple of big items from the revenue side,” he said.

Those are sales tax collections that totaled $9.6 million, $500,000 more than expected, and $687,267 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act funding to offset public safety costs attributable to the pandemic.

The sales tax total includes a payment of $296,467 from the retirement of the Miller Park stadium tax.

Officials have attributed the rest of the increase in sales tax revenue to online sales now being taxable and anecdotally to the county’s less rigid restrictions in response to the pandemic drawing visitors to shop and eat from Milwaukee County where rules were more strictly enforced. 

Despite the better-than-expected year in sales tax collections, McMahon said the budget for 2021 remains unchanged from 2020 at $9.1 million “since it is unknown how the pandemic and the new administration (in Washington, D.C.) will influence the 2021 economy.”

The county also had a good year on its investment earnings, but not as good as it had been in recent years.

Investment earnings totaled $280,105 on investments of $11.87 million, well in excess of the $230,000 that was budgeted.

That compares to $630,546 that was earned in 2019, $400,735 in 2018 and $197,701 in 2017.   

The county also earned $271,110 in penalties and interest on delinquent taxes, down from 2019 when it earned $295,228 but up from 2018 when it earned $219,326.