St. Paul, MN - State Auditor Julie Blaha has released the 2018 Town Finances Report. The report shows revenues and debt service expenditures decreased, while expenditures increased.
"We'll be analyzing this data further, once we issue the 2018 city and county financial reports," said Auditor Blaha. "Early next year, we'll be taking a collective and in-depth look at all local government financial information and we're looking forward to sharing those findings."
Some of the highlights of this report include:
Current Trends
- In 2018, Minnesota towns reported total revenues of $317.3 million. This amount represents a 2.4 percent decrease over the total revenues reported in 2017.
- Minnesota towns reported total expenditures of $312.2 million in 2018. This amount represents an increase of 1.9 percent over the amount reported in 2017.
- Debt service expenditures are the principal and interest payments on outstanding indebtedness. Towns had debt service expenditures of $11.1 million in 2018. This amount represents a decrease of 16.3 percent from 2017.
- Outstanding indebtedness totaled $56.7 million in 2018. This represents an increase of 1.1 percent over 2017. Outstanding bonded indebtedness totaled $35.6 million in 2018, which represents an increase of 2.2 percent from the $34.9 million outstanding in 2017.
Ten-Year Trends
- Between 2009 and 2018, total town revenues in actual dollars increased 20.5 percent. In constant or inflation-adjusted dollars, total town revenues decreased 1.6 percent over this ten-year period.
- Since 2009, the share of total revenues derived from taxes has increased from 70.4 percent in 2009 to 73.8 percent in 2018, and the share of total revenues derived from intergovernmental sources has decreased from 19.1 percent to 18.2 percent over that same period.
- Between 2009 and 2018, total expenditures in actual dollars grew 20.3 percent. In constant or inflation-adjusted dollars, total town expenditures decreased 1.8 percent between 2009 and 2018.
To view the complete report, which includes an Executive Summary, graphs and tables, click here.
xxx
The Office of the State Auditor is the constitutional office that oversees nearly $40 billion in local government finances for Minnesota taxpayers. The Office of the State Auditor helps to ensure financial integrity and accountability in local government financial activities. Julie Blaha is Minnesota’s 19th State Auditor. Follow us on Twitter @MNStateAuditor.
|