At the Finance Committee meeting Sept. 16, Finance Director Noah Crocker reviewed the city's revenue picture and told committee members that sales tax receipts for August were down year-over-year while remaining above the current budget, and that REET and lodging-tax balances were performing well.

For the month of August, Crocker said, "For the month of August, we continue to see negative year over year changes." He added that year-over-year sales tax collections were down roughly 4 percent compared with 2024 but that the city was still tracking approximately 7 percent above the adopted budget, a cushion he said could shrink in the final four months of the fiscal year.

Crocker described REET as a more variable revenue stream but reported it was "right on track with REET for our annual budget for 2025," and he said staff was about $90,000 short of meeting the 2025 REET budget at that point. He said the mid-biennial review process will fold these trends into budget planning for 2026. When asked whether the city tracks other revenue streams with the same cadence, Crocker replied, "Yes. But yes. We do. Yeah. So we track all revenues."

The committee reviewed fund balances and Crocker said "all the funds continue to remain healthy." Committee members asked specifically about the lodging-tax fund (LTAC). Crocker said the LTAC line was budgeted for $102,000 and year-to-date collections were about $128,000, which staff described as a stronger-than-budgeted start that will inform LTAC and event-facility conversations.

Crocker noted that sales tax and REET are two especially impactful revenues for the general fund and capital projects, respectively, and that property tax is generally predictable once the levy is set. He said staff will continue monitoring revenues and bring any recommended mid-biennial adjustments to the committee as they prepare the 2026 budget.

The committee did not take formal action Sept. 16. Finance staff said they will continue to monitor trends and include observed changes in the upcoming mid-biennial review for council consideration.