The county has experienced strong property appreciation...

The county has experienced strong property appreciation trends over the past several years, with total assessed value increasing by a very strong 49% since 2003 to $4.0 billion in fiscal 2006. Since 1998, the unreserved fund balance has ranged between a high of 6.7% of expenditures in fiscal 2003 to a low of 2.0% of expenditures at the end of fiscal 2004. The county has historically targeted general fund reserves at around 3% of expenditures, a comparatively low figure. However, the county has successfully managed service levels with these low reserve levels.