By Justin Schneider, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
justin.schneider@heraldbulletin.com
ANDERSON - Recessions do not discriminate.
And the recent economic downturn has affected local governments as much as private citizens.
On Thursday, the Madison County Board of Commissioners accepted the annual report from the board of finance, which revealed a smaller return on investments and decreased revenues.
"The biggest difference is that the interest is going down," Madison County Treasurer Darlene Likens said. "But when you collect property taxes also makes a difference. We didn't have settlement until January last year."
Likens said a delay in property tax billing created a delay in collection, which pushed settlement - normally finished by Dec. 31 - into the following January. That means less revenue on the books for the fiscal year.
Madison County earned $1.97 million in interest in 2008 compared to more than $2.5 million in 2007. The value of certificates of deposit (CDs), meanwhile, fell from $59 million in 2007 to $49 million last year.
Furthermore, Likens said, investments aren't paying off as well because funds are re-distributed to county departments almost as soon as they can be collected.
"The problem is two-fold," said Commissioner Paul Wilson, D-South District. "There is less money to invest, the investment itself is less and on top of that we're paying interest because we have cash-flow problems."
"It's kind of a vicious cycle," Likens said.
Tax collections as of Dec. 31, 2008, were $110 million compared to $152 million on Dec. 28, 2007
The Board of Finance comprises the three members of the Madison County Board of Commissioners and the county treasurer. Wilson was elected president and Likens secretary.