HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity of Hardeeville - Public Financial ReportPopular AnnualFinancial Report
For the Fiscal Year EndedJune 30, 2021
Index
I am pleased to present to you the City of Hardeeville’s first Popular AnnualFinancial Report. This report is for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 and isintended to increase awareness of the financial operations of the City. The purpose of this report is to communicate Hardeeville’s financial condition in a user-friendlymanner.
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City Manager's
Message
City Manager's Message
Additionally, this report provides non-financialinformation highlighting Hardeeville’s recentaccomplishments and insight into what the futurewill bring. It is important for citizens to beinformed of what is occurring throughout our City.
Financial information within this report isderived mainly from the City’s 2021independently audited financial statements thatare prepared in accordance with generallyaccepted accounting principles. These auditedstatements are part of the Hardeeville’s 2021Annual Comprehensive Financial Report(ACFR). We are proud to say the City’s ACFRhas been awarded the Certificate of Achievementfor Excellence in Financial Reporting by theGovernment Finance Officers Association foreach of the last nine years.
We welcome your feedback regarding this report. Please share any questions orcomments with our Finance Director, John Boyle, at jboyle@hardeevillesc.gov.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Czymbor
City Manager
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Hardeeville at a Glance
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Governance
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Taxation &
Millage Rate
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Revenue7
Expenditures
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Assets & Liabilities
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Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
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Contact/ Follow Us
Hardeeville's Recreation Center opened July 2021
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Accomplishments
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Project Updates
HARDEEVILLE AT A GLANCE
In anticipation of this growth, Cityofficials are developingopportunities to strengthen the community and job creation, drivethe economy, enhance relationshipsand partnerships, and provideopportunities that improve thequality of life for all residents.
Hardeeville continues to growwith the expansion of its 55+communities such as Sun City,Latitude Margaritaville andRiverton Pointe. Along with this growth, anticipated constructionnear East Argent and ongoingdevelopment throughout the City,the City's population is expectedto exceed 31,000 residents by2030.
Influenced by its geographic location along the I-95 corridor and its proximity to Hilton Head, Bluffton andSavannah, the City of Hardeeville is experiencing substantial growth and development. The City is nowfifty-six square miles.
Founded in 1911, the City of Hardeeville is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the Southeast. A oncerural, small city located in the southern tip of Jasper County, South Carolina, the City of Hardeeville has along history filled with change.
Population 7,473 Male 48.1%Female 51.9%Bachelor's degree orhigher 38.4%
Median Age 57.1 years
Per capita income $41,535
Median household income $68,365
Average travel time to work in minutes 24.8
Median value of owner-occupied housing units $336,000
Average household size 2.17
Source: US Census April 2020 & July 2019
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GOVERNANCE
The City of Hardeeville operates under the Council-Manager form of government. Policy making andlegislative authority are vested in a governing council consisting of five members. The governing council’sresponsibilities include, but are not limited to, passing ordinances, adopting the budget, appointingcommittees, and hiring the government's manager, municipal judge, and attorney.
David Spisso Council Member Carolyn Kassel Mayor Pro Tempore Harry Williams Mayor John Carroll Council Member Bo White Council Member
Organizational Structure Appointed Boards &Commissions
Accommodations Tax Committee
Board of Building Appeals
Board of Zoning Appeals
Planning Commission
Recreation Advisory Commission
The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)provides the ability to grant relief from theMunicipal Zoning and DevelopmentOrdinance (MZDO) through the granting ofvariances and special exceptions.
The Recreation Advisory Commission playsan essential role in the community bypromoting quality parks, programs, events,and facilities for Hardeeville residents inharmony with the Parks, Recreation, andTourism Department.
The Planning Commission serves as thepublic’s first opportunity to comment onproposed planning and zoning changes. Itsduty is to engage in a continuing program forthe physical, social, and economic growth,development, and redevelopment of the City.
Makes recommendations to City Council fordisbursement of State Accommodation Taxfunds for tourism related events.
Reviews requests for City building officialcode interpretations.
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The chart to the right showsthe City’s reduction in themillage rate from FY12 toFY22. The reduction of 41mills over this timeframerepresents a tax reduction of27%. A mill is represented as$1 tax per $1,000 taxablevalue. This 41 mill reductionmeans that a property with anassessed value of $100,000 inFY12 would have been taxedat $15,300. A property with anassessed value of $100,000 inFY22 will be taxed at $11,200. The 27% decrease for aproperty with an assessedvalue of $100,000 results in$4,100 less tax.
TAXATION & MILLAGE RATE
Hardeeville is located predominately in Jasper County with a small portion located in Beaufort County. Taxesare levied by the City and both counties. The County 'Overlapping Rate' has various components as indicated inthe charts below. Hardeeville does not have components to its rate. The County overlapping and total city &county rates show the total tax to citizens and the rates imposed by the respective counties.
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REVENUE - SOURCES OF FUNDING
Licenses & Permits - License and permit collections are the second largest source of general fund revenue, accounting for 30% ofgeneral fund revenue. Major sources of license and permit revenue are:
Business Licenses – revenuescollected for all businesslicensed in the City.
Building Permits – revenues from permitting and inspection of residential and commercial development.
Planning Permits – fees related to staff analysis of proposed new development activities.
Water/ Sewer Fees – fees collected for new residential connection to water and sewer services.
Alcohol, Beer, and Wine –revenues paid by establishmentsserving on premises alcohol onSunday.
The City has various sources of revenue including taxes, licenses & permits, grants, and charges for services.This revenue pays for the services provided to citizens and businesses.
When assessing the financial results ofthe City, the General Fund is theprimary focus. The General Fund is thegeneral operating fund of the City andsupports day-to-day operations. It isused to account for all revenues andexpenditures of the City, except forthose required to be accounted for inanother fund such as CapitalImprovement Projects or Developmentactivity. The City’s General FundRevenues totaled $15,040,445 for FY2021.
Graphically, the City's revenue over the last three fiscal years is represented in the chart below.
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EXPENDITURES-WHERE OUR MONEY GOES
The City must responsibly manage the funds it receives to provide services to the citizens and businesses. Thissection details the services provided residents and businesses. General fund expenditures finance the City’sdaily operations.
General Government includes the costs of elected officials and the Executive, Finance, Public Information,Information Technology, and Facilities Maintenance departments.
Judicial includes the costs of the Municipal Court.
Public Safety costs represent the costs of the Police and Fire departments
Public Works are the costs of the Public Works department.
Cultural and Recreation costs are those of the Parks, Recreation & Tourism department.
Housing & Development includes costs of the Planning, Downtown Development, Building Inspection, andWorkforce Development departments.
Debt Service includes principal and interest payments on the City’s debt.
Expenditures by function for the last three fiscal years are shown in the chart below.
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ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Along with the understanding of the City’s sources of revenue and how funds are spent, it is also important tounderstand its financial position. It is best to look at the City’s overall financial condition using the full accrualbasis of accounting. This basis of accounting is similar to the basis of accounting used in the private sector. This allows for consideration of all assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the City. The schedule showsthe net position, the difference between the City’s assets and liabilities, as of June 30, 2021 compared to June30, 2020.
The assets of the City exceeded its liabilities at the close of the fiscal year by $35,981,080 (net position).
Portions of the restricted net position amount are designated for developer agreements, tourism projectsand public safety. Capital assets currently comprise slightly more than 50% of the City’s assets. Whilethese assets are used to provide services to our citizens, they are not available for future spending. Thechart displays the City’s net position over the last five years and reflects a healthy and improvingfinancial position.
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FISCAL YEAR 2022 BUDGET
The fiscal year 2022 budget is the City’s financial plan. The plan includes estimates of anticipated revenues aswell as how much the City expects to spend. The budget is the framework that provides the staff and resourcesnecessary to provide planned services to residents for the year.
The 2022 General Fund budget is displayed alongside actual results for fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 in the graph below. (Note: Each year the City budgets 20% for budget stabilization. These are funds available shouldan emergency or natural disaster occur. For comparison purposes, these funds are not included in the 2022budgeted amounts.)
Notable increases in General Fund expenditures include:Staffing and utilities for the City’s new recreation centerSix months planned staffing for Fire Station 84 – 3 Engineers & 3 Lieutenants, Three new Police Department staff – Detective, Patrol Officer and Records SpecialistHiring of two building inspectors in the Planning DepartmentWorkforce Development costs to account for training of over 100 welders and CDL driversIncreased capital outlay costs
The graph below is the fiscal year 2022 general fund budget shown overlaid on currency. It provides an easyvisual depicting where the City's General Fund money is budgeted for the year. Over two-thirds of the plannedexpenditures are for public safety and general government.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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POLICEHardeeville Police Department is in the process of athree-year city-wide camera system implementation. The camera system is another tool for policing and aidsin the identification and collection of evidence. Phaseone of the implementation resulted in cameras beingplaced throughout the recreation complex behind cityhall. Phase two implementation is currently underwayand begins at Whyte Hardee Boulevard and Highway46 and continues to Exit 5. Finally, phase three willfocus on the Exit 8 area of the City.
FIREFire departments are rated on a scale of 1-10 with 10being the worst and 1 being the best. Hardeeville FireDepartment maintains an Insurance Services Office(ISO) rating of 3. The Department is one of only8.2% of fire departments nationwide with a score of 3or less. This 3 score allows Hardeeville residents topay less for their property insurance than they wouldwere the score higher.
PARKS RECREATION & TOURISM
FY 2021 saw the completion of the much anticipatedRecreation Center. The 35,000 square foot Centerincludes: A fully equipped fitness center Indoor walking track NCAA regulation basketball court Volleyball, racquetball & pickleball courts Meeting space
The global pandemic prevented the City from beingable to provide some of our more popular events:Fourth off Main, Festival on Main and the Battle of theBadges. That did not deter our Parks, Recreation andTourism (PRT) staff from finding creative ways for ourcitizens to safely get out and enjoy themselves.
PRT provided drive in movie nights and modified theEaster Egg Hunt to be a drive through event completewith a visit from the Easter Bunny. The City was able tomodify other events such as Trunk or Treat, the Fill theBus school supply drive and the Fishing Rodeo to afford residents much appreciated opportunities for a change ofpace. Two other favorites; the Annual Holiday TreeLighting, and Santa’s Toy Box were attended by Santaand enjoyed by many.
PROJECT UPDATES
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Whyte Hardee BoulevardWhyte Hardee Boulevard plan seeks to calm traffic, makethe area more pedestrian-friendly and help rebuild thecenter business/civic district of Hardeeville. Someimmediate or short-term priorities include adoptingupdates to zoning regulations and creating a businessimprovement district. Medium-term include designs forroad improvements and incentive packages. Long-terminclude marketing and major construction ofroadways/medians.
Hardeeville Commerce Park The Hardeeville Commerce Park is a 167-acre SouthCarolina Department of Commerce site certified park,located just north of the I-95 Exit 5 interchange adjacent toU.S. 17/Whyte Hardee Boulevard. The Commerce Park is inan Opportunity Zone. The City received grant funding toinstall infrastructure which is expected to be completed inSpring 2022.
Exit 3 & Industrial Development on US17The City of Hardeeville I-95 Exit 3 Interchange Project is unique public/private collaborative infrastructureproject. The project will provide accessibility to Interstate 95 and US 17 in the southern portion of the City ofHardeeville and will accommodate traffic associated with the much anticipated RiverPort Development. Thisdevelopment includes new industrial, commercial, and residential traffic including the moving of freight alongwith exponential volumes of traffic associated with the expansion of the Savannah Port.
Total project cost is estimated at $86 million dollars with completion anticipated by 2026. A primary financialplan has been previously identified for the project utilizing South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank(SCTIB) grant and loan funds along with a monetary commitment of funds and matching contributions from thedeveloper. Phase 1 of the RiverPort Parkway South has been completed by the developer. As the developercontinues to work on Parkway South, the City is working with SCTIB, South Carolina Department ofTransportation, US Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Highway Administration for completion of necessarysteps to assure the momentum on the project continues.
This project proactively addresses the severity of congestion and potential safety implications of the newprojects by diverting flow of traffic from the I-95 Exit 5 Interchange and by connecting to US 17. The projectalso creates some secondary benefits for the region by providing improved accessibility to the interstate systemfor Hardeeville, Jasper County, Town of Bluffton, and Beaufort County improving congestion and mobilityalong US 278 and US 17.
The project consists of 3 components: (1) the Exit 3interchange, (2) a new overpass for I-95, (3)development of 4.5 miles of roadway extending bothnorth and south of the interchange. The Exit 3Interchange will stimulate economic growth byenhancing interstate accessibility and improvingmultimodal access with the addition of the interchangeand RiverPort Parkway.
Most property in the Park has been sold and will be developed in the coming years. When complete, the parkwill be an employment center for the region.
15 million square feet of warehouse space has been approved with nearly 2 million square feet having alreadybeen constructed. Many businesses, including large, well known brands, have expressed interest in the US17industrial corridor as an efficient, cost effective solution to their logistics needs.
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About this ReportThis report is intended to provide a summary of the City of Hardeevilleoperations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. This report is a summary andcertain financial statements, including all GAAP required disclosures, areomitted. A copy of the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR)which is prepared in accordance with GAAP and contains more detailedinformation, may be downloaded at: http://hardeevillesc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12673/Financial-Report-Year-Ended-June-30-2021-PDF.
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