December 31, 1998 - CURRENT

This report provides an overview of the financial picture of the City. The information in it should be useful to anyone interested in a quick snapshot of the City’s finances, such as Seattle citizens, the City’s elected officials and other decision makers within the City system, and jurisdictions gathering comparative data.
Click here for a complete Executive Summary.

Table of Contents / Highlights

	Fund Structure of Seattle Seattle uses three broad fund categories, with several fund-types and subfunds within each category, to manage and account for the City’s finances. These three fund categories are Governmental, Proprietary, and Fiduciary Funds.
	1998 General Government Revenue General government revenue in 1998 totaled $799.6 million. A rough measure of the annual per capita contribution (direct and indirect) to Seattle general government costs in 1998 is $1,297.
	1994-1998 General Government Revenue General government revenue increased over the past five years by an annual average of 3.6% more than inflation. Most of this increase comes from sales taxes, B&O taxes, utility taxes, and property taxes.
	1998 General Government Expenditures General government expenditures in 1998 totaled $762.1 million, with about a third of this amount going toward public safety expenditures.
	1994-1998 General Government Expenditures General government expenditures increased over the past five years by an annual average of 2.2% more than inflation. Most of this increase was in capital expenditures, debt service, and planning and development.
	1998 General Government Revenue, Expenditures, and Fund Balance 1998 revenues in the General Fund, the Special Revenue Funds, and the Debt Service Funds exceeded expenditures and net other financing uses by $15.7 million, resulting in an increase to fund balances.
	1994-1998 City Utility Revenue Utility revenues increased over the past five years by an annual average of 0.3% more than inflation. In 1998, the average residential monthly bill for all City utilities was $99.22.
	1994-1998 City Utility Expenses Utility expenses increased over the past five years by an annual average of 0.9% more than inflation.
	1998 Income Statement and Debt Service Coverage for City Utilities City Light took a 6.2% loss in 1998, while the other City utilities generated positive net income. Each utility exceeded its legal requirement for debt service coverage.
	1994-1998 General Long-Term Debt Outstanding and Debt Capacity General long-term debt outstanding increased from $369.5 million in 1994 to $664.6 million in 1998. Much of the debt issued in the recent past has come with its own new revenue sources, or has allowed the City to avoid future increases in operating costs.
Backup CAFR Numbers for this Popular Financial Report
For your convenience, this report is also available in PDF format               and Word for Windows. The full Comprehensive Annual Financial               Report (CAFR) is available at:               http://cityofseattle.net/cafrs/1998/.

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Date of Web publication: July 7, 1999