Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIncorporated County of Los Alamos - Public Financial Report Popular Annual Financial Report Incorporated County of Los Alamos Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021 2 3 COUNTY MANAGER & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER MESSAGE 4 GFOA AWARD - OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PAFR 5 RESPONSE TO COVID-19 6 ACCOMPLISHMENT HIGHLIGHTS 8 THE COUNTY’S FINANCIAL POSITION 10 GENERAL FUND ACTIVITIES 11 BUSINESS-TYPE ACTIVITIES 12 BUSINESS-TYPE ACTIVITIES COMPARED 13 GENERAL FUNDS COMPARED 14 GRT—WHAT IS IT? 15 PROPERTY TAXES 16 FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS (FTE) 17 CAPITAL PROJECTS 18 OPERATING BY THE NUMBERS 20 COUNTY-WIDE ORGANIZATION CHART 21 COUNTY COUNCIL 22 UTILITIES AT A GLANCE TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 County Manager & Chief Financial Officer Message To the County Council and Citizens of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos: We are pleased to submit to you this Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for fiscal year 2021. Our goal is to ensure that the citizens are kept informed on the state of the County’s finances and discover more about their County government’s operations. Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021) began on July 1, 2020 and ended on June 30, 2021. The Finance Division of the Administrative Services Department has prepared this summary of the financial activities of Los Alamos County reported in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). This PAFR includes condensed and selected information from the ACFR and therefore, is a non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) presentation. The ACFR outlines the County’s financial position at June 30, 2021 and the results of its operations for the fiscal year. The ACFR represents the audited information for last year, is presented in GAAP format, and contains more detailed information. The ACFR is available to all citizens at the Municipal Building (1000 Central Avenue), on the County’s website (https://www.losalamosnm.us/ government/departments/administrative_services/finance_budget/reports_and_budgets), and also at both the Mesa Public Library and White Rock Branch Library. Although the County is a relatively small government in terms of resident population served, the numerous direct and indirect relationships with the Department of Energy require levels of service and complexity normally found in large metropolitan areas. We are also unique in that we are classified as a Class H County in the State of New Mexico and we operate as both a City and County government. As always, providing top-notch service is our number one priority. We work for you, the residents of Los Alamos County, and appreciate the high levels of engagement from our community. We Continue to be diligent in our COVID Safe Practices, and, more importantly, be encouraging and supportive of your fellow co-workers – especially those on the front lines at the County. Work- ing together, we will continue to keep our focus on doing our part to fight the virus and turn Los Ala- mos County from “red” to “green” to allow facilities, amenities and businesses to re-open, increase capacity, or offer more services. We can accomplish this task. Our community is resilient. Sincerely, 4 5 • On March 11, 2020, because of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Governor issued an Executive Order declaring that a Public Emergency exists in New Mexico. The County continued to operate under the State's emergency orders and CDC guidelines for Covid Safe Practices throughout the fiscal year. • The County deployed several methods to address the changing environment and needs associated with the virus for staff and their ability to serve the community throughout the year. Employees providing essential services with a job that required them to be in the field, such as public safety or utilities’ workers, reported to work as scheduled. Several employees remained working via telework and rotational hybrid schedules and other employees who provided nonessential services remained at home on special Emergency Paid Leave status until they were able to return to work. • The County continued providing essential services to the community during the public health emergency, and hosted both in-person and hybrid remote Council meetings to allow for more options for the public and staff to participate in. • The County deployed several safety measures requiring daily self assessments, masks, social- distancing and a policy on Covid-19 Testing Requirements for County Employees which required employees to provide proof of COVID-19 test each week, or proof of COVID-19 Vaccination. RESPONSE TO COVID-19 6 ACCOMPLISHMENT HIGHLIGHTS  First, it’s exciting to see new housing projects under construction. New housing opportunities are visible along DP Road, known as Canyon Walk Apartments. In White Rock, Mirador Subdivision is wrapping up the first phase of single-family homes and has moved forward with its mixed-use project in 2021 on the same property. Both projects will bring more options and housing availability to the community.  The Hill apartments and a new senior-focused housing development will be under construction soon, while homes in North Community on the former Black Hole property are also under construction.  The County and School Board also moved ahead in December 2020 with a Memorandum of Agreement to work together to consider a new housing project on School-owned property near the Middle School. The County has funding through a State grant to fund the infrastructure design, and the project’s focus was the topic of several public workshops this past year.  A local developer completed construction to convert 8 offices into apartments by adding an additional floor to an existing office building at the corner of Oppenheimer and Trinity.  Downtown Master Planning efforts were launched for Los Alamos and White Rock, and related work on two sections of the County’s code (Chapter 16 and 18) will support the work coming out of these efforts, a combination of planning, design and public feedback that will advance related projects in the works, such as the Urban Trail and expansion of the Canyon Rim Trail into the downtown area.  The County recently sold two adjacent properties along Trinity Drive to a local business (Pet Pangea, LLC) for a mixed use residential and retail development.  Capital projects moved to construction for four quality of life initiatives. The Leisure Lagoon addition to the Aquatic Center is funded and construction has begun; a Splash Pad for White Rock is substantially completed; Phase I of the Golf Course irrigation replacement was completed this past summer, and Improvements to the locker rooms were constructed at the Ice Rink.  A variety of infrastructure projects occurred – most noticeably with the State Department of Transporta- tion’s NM502 roundabout project, which has been completed. Funding for infrastructure for DP Road was approved and moved to design, wayfinding signage was approved and is going out to bid, conceptual design will begin for the Tween Center as well as planning to redevelop the WAC Building. 7 ACCOMPLISHMENT HIGHLIGHTS  The County successfully distributed $1.7 million of CARES Act funds to the community under a stringent federal timeframe. In accordance with Council’s direction and desire to help the community we did not revert any of the funds allotted to Los Alamos County. No monies were utilized to enhance County revenues, but instead every dollar was awarded to local entities, including small businesses, individual residents, and the Los Alamos Public Schools.  The County continues its commitment to operational excellence. The Government Finance Officers Association awarded Los Alamos County with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (29 consecutive years) for the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award (28 consecutive years), and the GFOA Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award (4 consecutive years) for the County’s PAFR, all of which contributed to our GFOA Triple Crown 8 THE COUNTY’S FINANCIAL POSITION The County as a whole, gained $39.4 million in net position in FY21 primarily due to decreased expenses DID YOU KNOW? Governmental Activities are supported by taxes and grants to provide basic services. Business-type Activities are supported by user fees and contract revenue based on the service level used. 9 MORE ON THE COUNTY’S NET POSITION When you look at the County in terms of its financial statements in this way like a balance sheet, you can see that a significant amount of our net worth is invested in capital assets (our infrastructure, buildings, land, etc.) and restricted for purposes of serving the public. The presentation of this statement is meant to look at the County as a whole. Unrestricted net position is impacted by required accounting adjustments mainly related to our long-term pension liability for participating in the State Public Employer Retirement Association 10 GENERAL FUND ACTIVITIES 11 BUSINESS-TYPE ACTIVITIES 12 BUSINESS TYPE ACTIVITIES—COMPARED DID YOU KNOW The Los Alamos Fire Department provides fire protection services to Los alamos National Laboratory (LANL) under a cooperative agreement. Through this partnership, LANL and the community receives an elevated level of fire protection and ambulance services. The cost of services provided to LANL are reimbursed to the County through monthly billings. 13 GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS COMPARED County-wide Results Overall, the County continues to have a strong financial position, with operating reserves and assets available to provide services to citizens. The County maintains separate funds for its governmental activities to properly account for those revenues and expenditures that are restricted for special purposes, or to provide its general services to the community that are funded by taxes. This comparison shows the combined governmental fund totals by revenue type and expenditure category, over the past 3 years. A surplus increases fund balance reserves, and a deficit indicates the potential need for tapping into those reserves. 14 GRT — What is it? Gross Receipts Tax, or GRT is a tax imposed by the State and the County for selling goods; performing services; leasing or licensing property; granting a right to use a franchise; and sell- ing research and development services. GRT is New Mexico’s version of a sales tax. For every $1.00 spent in Los Alamos subject to tax, we get $.03 of the $.07 collected back. HOW DO WE COMPARE TO OTHER MUNICIPALITIES IN THE STATE? How does it work? The County adopts tax rates in increments for general or special purposes. Every time you pay GRT on a transaction, the local business collects the tax and remits it to the State of New Mexico through CRS-1 re- porting. The state retains a portion of the tax and then distributes the remainder to the individual county or municipality. Los Alamos County is unique in that we can im- plement both City and County increments since we’re one in the same. GRT makes up 72% of our revenue to provide services to the community. Our single largest contribu- tor is LANL. 15 PROPERTY TAXES There are many factors that go into the Property Tax Rate determined by the NM Department of Finance and Administration (DFA). The Total Net Taxable Value of the County, Total New Construction in the County, additional or expired voter imposed General Obligation Bonds, and the amount of mill rate imposed by the specific entities all play a role in the calculation of the Property Tax Rates. The residential tax rate in Los Alamos County is 24.532 mills. The non-residential tax rate is 28.590. WHERE DO YOUR PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS GO? 16 FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS (FTE) CHANGE IN FTE’S The Adopted budget has 663.25 regular, 8.30 limited term and 20.79 temp/casual positions for a total of 692.34 budgeted FTE in all funds. The 15.75 increase in regular FTE is due to the addition of the following: Procurement—Deputy CPO (1.0) Finance—Payroll Specialist (.50) IM—Sr. Records Specialist (1.0) Library—Program Specialist (1.0) Parks—White Rock Crew (3.0) CSD— HCAP (.25) CMO /Risk—Safety Specialist (1.0) Police—Animal Shelter Svc Aide (1.0) PW—Facilities Construction Crew (6.0) Fleet—Mechanic II (1.0) The 3.0 increase in limited term positions is due to the addition of the following: HR—Human Resource Tech (1.0) Utilities—Eng Associate / GWS Trainee (2.0) The 1.49 reduction in temp/casual positions is due to the following: IM—Admin Services (.54) Utilities—(.95) 17 CAPITAL PROJECTS TURN INTO CAPITAL ASSETS Los Alamos County adopts a project- length budget for capital projects that may cross multiple fiscal years. As those projects go from construction in progress to finished buildings, roads, or utility infrastructure, these assets get capitalized in the respective year they are placed in service and ready for use. 18 Operating Indicators BY THE NUMBERS 19 Operating Indicators BY THE NUMBERS 20 COUNTY-WIDE ORGANIZATION CHART 21 COUNTY COUNCIL The Council of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos is the governing body of Los Alamos County and was created by the Los Alamos County Charter. The Council consists of seven members elected at large for four- year, staggered terms. Each year the Council elects a Chair and Vice-Chair from within its membership. An incorporated county is established under a special provision of the state constitution. It has both county and municipal authority and powers. Los Alamos County Council has also adopted a home rule charter which allows the County to depart from certain statutory requirements. Under the Charter, the Council is the governing body of the County. LOS ALAMOS COUNTY POPULATION 19,462 Randall Ryti, Chair James Robinson, Vice-Chair David Izraelevitz, Councilor Sara Scott, Councilor Sean Williams, Councilor Denise Derkacs, Councilor David Reagor, Councilor 22 Did You Know? DPU reclaimed 96.2 million gallons of water to irrigate Los Alamos Golf Course and Parks. Did You Know? Utilities produces green energy! The Department of Public Utilities generates clean energy for Los Alamos County and Los Alamos Na- tional Laboratory through two hydroelectric facili- ties at Abiquiu and El Vado, as well as a solar array field in Los Alamos. UTILITIES AT A GLANCE 23 Top 5 Los Alamos County Employers 2021 ACCOLADES America’s Healthiest Communities: #1 Los Alamos County US NEWS & WORLD REPORT Best Small-Town Restaurants Across the U.S.: #15 Pig + Fig TRAVELAWAITS Friendliest Small Towns in the U.S.: #15 Los Alamos County TRAVELAWAITS Best School District in New Mexico: #1 LAPS NICHE.COM Best College Prep Public High School in New Mexico: #2 LAHS NICHE.COM Best Public Middle School in New Mexico: #2 LAMS NICHE.COM Best Public Elementary Schools in New Mexico: #2, 4,10,12,14 NICHE.COM Top 10 Affordable Small Towns Where You’d Want To Live: #7 Los Alamos REALTOR.COM Los Alamos National Laboratory ….….......12,862 Los Alamos County………..…..……......…........697 Los Alamos Public Schools.…………...……....693 N3B ……………….........................................…..621 Other Employers ...........................................2,761 24 Incorporated County of Los Alamos, New Mexico Administrative Services Department - Finance Division 1000 Central Avenue, Suite 300 Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544 https://www.losalamosnm.us/government/departments/administrative_services/finance_budget/reports_and_budgets Contact us at lacbudget@lacnm.us or 505-662-8244