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GOVERNMENT -WIDE FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (CONTINUED) <br />Investment earnings (charges) increased $2,848,188. The City is required per the Governmental Accounting <br />Standards Board to reflect most investments at fair value as of December 31st of the current year. The City was <br />able to take advantage of the rising interest rates that the Federal Reserve implemented in 2022. The City reflects <br />any changes in fair value against interest earnings (charges). Property taxes saw an increase of $2,489,505 or <br />14% which was attributed to the City increasing their 2023 tax levy by approximately 11% over the 2022 adopted <br />levy. Charges for services increased by $482,892 as the City saw an increase in building permit related activity. <br />Expenses for the public safety function increased by $728,431 due largely to personnel costs and the purchase <br />of police and fire vehicles that were not received in 2022 due to supply chain shortages. Highways and streets <br />expense increased by $3,362,274 as the City issued a $10,765,000 GO Street Reconstruction Bond in late 2022 <br />to improve the number of streets that need to be reconstructed in the City. The City completed significant street <br />repairs in fiscal 2023. The economic development function increased by $609,024 due to an increase of expenses <br />in the COR area. Interest and fiscal charges increased by $694,497 with more debt issued in recent years. <br />Business -Type Activities — Business -type activities, which are the City's utility operations of water, sewer, <br />street light, recycling, and storm water, increased the City's net position by $8,798,374. Key elements of this <br />increase are as follows. <br />• Revenues exceeded expenses before transfers by $8,872,798, with this excess increasing $7,479,954 from <br />the prior year. <br />• Charges for services increased by $760,197 from the prior year. This is primarily due to an increase in <br />collections from quarterly utility billing collections related to the water and sewer utility. <br />• Investment earnings increased $8,083,219. The city is required per the Governmental Accounting <br />Standards Board to reflect most investments at fair value as of December 31st of the current year. The city <br />reflects any changes in fair value against interest earnings (charges). In 2022, due to a large cash inflow <br />needed for the city's proposed water treatment plant, the city's investments, due to the requirement to write <br />down to fair value, were greatly affected by the sharp and quick increase in interest rates by the Federal <br />Reserve. The city was able to take advantage of these improved rates in year 2023. <br />Governmental Activities — The following graph illustrates the City's governmental activities: <br />Expenses and Program Revenues — Governmental Activities <br />10,000,000 <br />8,000,000 <br />6,000,000 <br />4,000,000 <br />2,000,000 <br />General Public Safety Highways & Culture & Economic Interest & Fiscal <br />Government Streets Recreation Development Charges <br />• Program Revenues • Expenses <br />The graph clearly reflects the need for property taxes to supplement the governmental activities of the City. The <br />trend of property taxes shows an increasing reliance on this source of revenue. <br />31 <br />