Representatives from the Kentucky State Budget Director’s office shared a positive state revenue report to two committees last week.
While overall numbers were significantly up from the prior fiscal year, the only major source within the Road Fund that is allocated to counties was not as robust as other sources within that fund.
State Budget Director John Hicks presented to the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue, detailing the story of Fiscal Year 2021 receipts including further insight into the General and Road Fund year-end totals.
Fiscal year 2021 saw the highest fiscal year collections in road fund history, with a total of $1.64 billion. Budget Director Hicks and Executive Director of the Office of Budget and Fiscal Management Robin Brewer provided the updates.
With actual road fund revenue totaling more than $1.64 billion, FY21 eclipsed FY20 revenue totals by $150.8 million. The FY21 Road Fund revenue finished with a surplus of $97.3 million, which will be disbursed to the Highways-State Construction Account.
Robin Brewer, executive director of the Office of Budget and Fiscal Management at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, updated members of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation. The revised and enacted official revenue estimate of $1.57 billion was outdone by the actual revenue total of $1.64 billion, an increase of 10.1 percent in total Road Fund collections from FY20.
For counties, it’s critical to note that while motor fuels accounted for $748 million of the actual revenue, it is down $7.8 million from the estimated revenue for the fiscal year. This is the fund that is shared with counties and cities. Motor vehicle usage tax revenue, which encompasses sales tax on motor vehicle purchases but does not get shared with counties, ended the fiscal year with $620.9 million in actual revenue, resulting in a $52.3 million increase from the revised and enacted revenue estimate. Other revenue sources accounted for $273.2 million of the actual revenue, $20.3 million greater than predicted.
Limited travel opportunities and a growing percentage of the population working remotely led to low growth rates in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2021. Fourth quarter revenue growth was 40 percent greater than any of the prior three quarters of the fiscal year, accounting for a majority of the revenue surplus.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet predicts $1.61 billion in revenue for FY22, along with projected growth in the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
Counties own and maintain half of all roads in Kentucky and a third of all bridges. Sustainable and adequate funding continues to be a critical need and a priority issue of our membership.
