FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
The following sections detail revenues and expenditures of the State's General and Special Revenue Funds. In addition, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998, other financing uses exceeded other financing sources for these funds by $692.981 million.
Revenues
The State's most significant sources of revenue are its 5% retail sales tax, its individual income tax (2.5% to 7.0% tax rates) and Federal grants. The following schedule summarizes revenues of the General and Special Revenue Funds for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998 (expressed in thousands) and the amounts (expressed in thousands) and percentages of increases in relation to prior year revenues:
Interest and other investment income were higher because the continued improvement in the State's financial position made more cash available for investment.
Contributions revenue increased as a result of the first year of operations of the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank. The Bank will use this revenue to fund major road projects.
The increase in the Other category of revenues resulted from larger than normal refunds for prior-year Medicaid and other program expenditures being reported for the current fiscal year.
Expenditures
The following schedule presents a summary of General Fund and Special Revenue Funds expenditures for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998 (expressed in thousands), and the amounts (expressed in thousands) and percentages of increases (decreases) in relation to prior year expenditures:
Transportation expenditures increased during the fiscal year because of the renewed emphasis on infrastructure development. Much of the increase reflects the fact that the Department of Transportation is paying a portion of the costs associated with a major road project under the control of the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank.
The increase in debt service principal retirements resulted from an increase in State general obligation bonds, issued in prior years, that matured during the current fiscal year.
Status of Fund Balances
GAAP-basis fund balances for the General Fund and Special Revenue Funds at June 30 (expressed in thousands) for the last five years were:
The reserved component of fund balance represents amounts legally required
to be segregated and amounts that cannot be appropriated for future expenditure. The
unreserved component of fund balance is computed as total fund balance less reserved
amounts. Even for years in which the total fund balance in the General Fund was
positive, the unreserved component of fund balance was negative because the reserve
requirements exceeded total fund balance.
The designated portion of unreserved fund balance reflects tentative plans for future use of available financial resources.