CFO: Marion County SERTax receipts to date $15.2M; two-month lag to push booked receipts to roughly $22.8M

Robert R. Welsh, chief financial officer for Marion County Public Schools, told the School Capital Outlay Certax Oversight Committee on March 4 that the district has collected $15.2 million in half-cent sales-tax receipts so far and expects December and January collections to be booked shortly.

"We're sitting at 15.2 million in actual and once we have booked the December and January revenue ... we'll be at about $22.8 million," Welsh said, adding that the district operates on a two-month reporting lag. Welsh described the district's revised budget for the SERTax program as about $39.6 million for the fiscal year and said the year-end projection remains unchanged.

Committee members asked whether December and January expenditures had been paid and whether the figures shown were estimates; Welsh said those entries are estimates until the receipts are reconciled and booked. When a member asked what proportion of the budget the $22.8 million represents once booked, Welsh estimated it would put the district at roughly 5055% of the annual projection, "which more than halfway through the year is pretty much on target."

The SERTax revenue update is used to plan ongoing capital projects funded by the program; staff and the CFO indicated staff will continue to reconcile December and January receipts in short order and report back if projections change. The committee did not take formal action on the revenue report at the meeting.