By: Libi Uremovic , November 28, 2013 | Original Article at Patch.com
Beaumont Audit XXXXIII – Financial Transactions Report Comparison of Taxes
The Financial Transactions & Compensation Report is a yearly requirement of the State Controller’s Office. It is a basic recording of all the City’s Revenue and Expenses for the fiscal year. Below is a comparison of the City of Beaumont’s Financial Transaction Reports for the years ending 2011, 2012, & 2013. This audit collected data from the Schedule of General & Functional Revenues ‘Taxes’ page.
The Reports are three consecutive years, but all three Reports were prepared in within an 8-month period in 2013. The 2012 Report was the 1st one submitted on 02/14/13, then 2011 Report was submitted on 10/22/13, followed by the 2013 Report submitted on 11/04/13.
The City of Beaumont records total taxes collected in the last three fiscal years at:
2011 = $12,806,374
2012 = $10,151,029
2013 = $14,161,268
The main reason why fiscal year 2012 is so much lower than the other two years is because the City neglected to account for the In-Lieu Vehicle License Tax and the In-Lieu Sales & Use Tax. This would account for approximately $2.5 million.
The City records the In-Lieu Vehicle License Tax at $2.8 million in 2011, nothing listed in 2012, and $2.6 million in 2013. Based on the theory that the larger the population the more taxes collected; it is highly unlikely that there was $200,000 less Vehicles License Taxes collected in 2013 than in 2011.
The Transportation Taxes for Transit also fluctuate unnaturally. The City of Beaumont records $1.7 million in 2011, $1.2 million in 2012, and $1.8 million in 2013.
Business License Taxes was also lower in 2012. The City recorded $178,000 in 2011; $153,000 in 2012; and $206,000 in 2013.
Utility Users Taxes were recorded at $1,320,000 in 2011; $1,272,000 in 2012; and $1,284,000 in 2013. I don’t know why there be a $1/2 million drop in utility taxes after 2011.
In Fiscal Year 2013 the City of Beaumont collected a total of $14,161,268 in taxes but the City’s Bond Premium and Interest payment to Union Bank totaled $15,870,344.55.
City Manager Kapanicas encourages homeowners to pay off their CFD taxes to: “save the interest”. And many homeowners are paying off their CFD debt so they can sell their homes. But when the homeowner pays the total amount the City spends the money instead of applying the payment to the bond debt.