A Closer Look at Two County Funds

The County Controller’s office has released the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and this blog covers two operating funds that we have written about previously: the Transit Fund and the Infrastructure Support Fund.

In 2017 the Transit Fund’s (page 260) two main revenue sources, the drink tax and the car rental tax, raised $47.8 million. With penalties and interest total revenue was $47.9 million. In making the required local match for Port Authority mass transit operations, expenditures from the fund were $30.9 million. Then, transfers out of the fund for capital and debt service obligations were $15.4 million, leaving a result of $1.5 million. Tacked on to the fund balance at the beginning of 2017, $14.4 million, at the end of 2017 $16.0 million was in the fund. As we noted in the 2016 Brief, the fact that the Regional Asset District is contributing to the operating match given the sizeable surpluses in the fund is very questionable.

The Infrastructure Support Fund (page 262) holds revenue from the $5 auto registration fee that is on top of the state’s registration fee. $4.8 million was raised in 2017, about $0.7 million more than in 2016. However, the expenditures from the fund related to public works, $5.5 million, were greater than the revenue brought in and part of the beginning of the year fund balance was used, leaving a surplus of $0.2 million at the end of the year.