The Ellensburg City Council accepted the city’s second‑quarter 2025 financial status and investment reports at its Aug. 4 meeting, after Finance Director Jerica Pascoe reviewed mid‑year performance and explained the drivers behind variances from budget.

Jerica Pascoe, Finance Director, told the council that overall revenues are projected "to come in above budget slightly with expenditures expected to come in under budget as required." She said the city’s apparent 16% increase in sales‑tax remittances over 2024 is concentrated in special sales‑tax categories and a few large construction and professional/technical purchases. "If I was to take those out of these calculations, we would actually be down 3% compared to what we saw in 2024," Pascoe said.

Pascoe said the city budgeted conservatively for retail sales tax in 2025 and that the regular retail sales tax (the portion available for general government) is up about $883,000 over projection, largely because a few one‑time construction projects and purchases (including robotics and professional/technical procurement) bumped receipts. She said staff’s approach will be to treat those as one‑time funds and avoid committing them to ongoing operating expenses.

Key figures Pascoe presented:
- Pool and recreation fees and other charges cover about $260,000 in pool revenue (roughly 22% cost recovery for the pool); staffing, energy and maintenance keep pool operating costs much higher.
- Tax revenue overall is projected to exceed budget by roughly $2.1 million (about 10.5%), with sales tax contributing most of the gain.
- Utility taxes are up about 12–13% year‑over‑year, driven partly by rate changes and weather patterns.
- The city’s investment portfolio stood at approximately $90.3 million as of June 30 (about $68 million in LGIP); interest earned through June was roughly $289,000 with year‑to‑date interest near $1.7 million.

Pascoe recommended that council accept the financial and investment presentations as complete. Council members thanked Pascoe for conservative budgeting and cautioned that some of the 2025 gains are transitory and that the city should keep reserves for potential softening in fiscal 2026. A motion to accept the second‑quarter reports carried on a voice vote.