County projects $1.5 million budget shortfall

Nye County officials project a $1.5 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2017, down from the $2.4 million that was announced in February.

The hole in the next year’s budget was caused by the lack of net mining proceeds from Round Mountain, officials said.

Nye County Manager Pam Webster said the projected shortfall was “decidedly better than we looked at before.”

“As you can see, the hole in the FY ‘17 revenue projection is the net proceeds because that is the year we don’t receive any income for that,” Webster said.

In 2016, Nye County will not receive anything for the net mining proceeds tax that refers to the fee imposed by the state on minerals that are sold, similar to sales tax.

By comparison, the county received $1.87 million in net mining proceeds for the fiscal year 2016. The same proceeds were $2.2 million in 2015, higher than normal because of the combination of normal production income and the audit that was done by the Nevada Department of Taxation at Round Mountain Gold.

“By doing this with zero net proceeds in FY ‘17, achieving a balanced budget, you will be able to use net proceeds in the future, not rely on them,” Webster told commissioners.

According to the Nye County fiscal year 2017 general fund budget review, revenues total $31.2 million, while expenditures stand at $32.7 million. Webster attributed the increase in the next year’s expenditures to an anticipated increase in health insurance premiums, maintenance agreements and a couple of other reasons.

The current ending fund balance is exclusive of the committed ending fund balance that the county recently took action on, Webster said.

The final revenue projection from the state of Nevada will be available on March 25. Nye County commissioners said they will present the data at the first meeting in April.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com