Summaries Give Public a Look at the City’s Fiscal Health
Two annual reports that city staff delivered to the Mayor and Council on Dec. 11 give the public a closer look at Rockville’s financial health during the most recently completed fiscal year.
For Fiscal Year 2017, which closed June 30, the city ended “with an overall net position of $348.8 million, an increase of 4 percent over last year,” City Manager Rob DiSpirito wrote in the city’s Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), a summary document highlighting the city’s finances.
In May, two rating agencies reaffirmed the city’s triple-A bond rating and expressed confidence in the city’s financial outlook. Triple-A is the highest possible rating and saves Rockville taxpayers money by allowing the city to borrow at the lowest possible interest rates.
“Rockville’s solid financial position and conservative financial management practices helped us to afford several new initiatives during FY 2017, including the acquisition of three properties for recreation purposes,” DiSpirito wrote. “In our current FY 2018 budget, city staff are actively working to address the needs of the Rockville community, and to implement the Mayor and Council’s top priority initiatives. We also seek new ways to be efficient, and have not raised property taxes in 10 years!”
The city created the first PAFR in 2007 as a way to explain, in layman’s terms, the information contained in Rockville’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The CAFR is prepared by the Finance Department in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and audited by certified public accountants. The PAFR is not a replacement for the CAFR, but rather a supplemental document to help the public review the city’s financial operations.
The FY17 PAFR describes:
- The city government and services.
- The city’s financial structure, including governmental funds, such as the general fund and the capital projects fund, and enterprise funds.
- The overall financial health of the city.
- The city’s capital investments and debt.
- Property taxes and utility rates, including how to read tax and utility bills.
The PAFR and CAFR are available at www.rockvillemd.gov/financialreports. To view the presentation to the Mayor and Council, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter and select the television icon next to the Dec. 11 meeting listing.
To learn more, call the Finance Department at 240-314-8400.