Lexington County was said to have clean financial reporting during the Feb. 11 Lexington County Council meeting where William Hancock of The Brittingham Group presented the 2023-24 fiscal year financial report.

Here are some key takeaways:

Lexington County currently has a population of over 313,000 with a predicted population of over 520,000 by 2050.

The county’s general fund by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2024, was at $117,568,843.

The county’s greatest expenditure category was law enforcement. With expenditures at $61,429,669, accounting for 26.28% of the county’s total expenditures, this was “largely due to personnel and their associated costs,” according to The Brittingham Group’s report.

Public safety wasn’t far behind at over 24% of the county’s expenditures.

The county issued over 4,400 building permits during the 2023-24 fiscal year.

“Permits for residential buildings totaled 1,665 with the buildings valued at $458 million,” according to the report. “A total of 57 commercial permits were issued with the buildings valued at $57 million. Permits issued for new single-family detached housing for calendar year 2024 is projected to be 1,400. This is a 1.75 percent decrease from the 1,425 permits that were projected to be issued last calendar year. These economic conditions indicate there is a slight decline in the economy that affects new home construction.”

The county’s greatest revenue source was property taxes. Property taxes made up for over 63% of the 2023-24 fiscal year revenues in the amount of $145,514,870. This was a $13,471,884 increase from the fiscal year prior.

Hancock said during the meeting that the county spent over $11 million in federal funds.

He also said almost $15 million went to capital projects, with nothing borrowed, during the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Some of the major capital projects listed in the report include over $11,000,000 towards road infrastructure, over $16,000,000 towards the West Region Service Center, over $6,000,000 towards the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park and over $4,000,000 towards the North Lake Fire Station. These dollar amounts are project totals and not all of these dollars are a part of the 2023-24 fiscal year budget.

The Brittingham Group’s report is available for the public to view online at the county’s website under the Departments tab, then under the Finance option. It’s called the FY 23-24 ACFR.