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City manager: Borger tracking to finish year with positive balance; warns of new state audit deadline and rising benefits costs
Summary
City Manager reported the city is projecting revenues above expenditures and on track for a positive year-end balance, but warned a new state audit timing requirement could limit fiscal flexibility and discussed a likely double-digit increase in insurance renewals under bid.
BORGER, Texas — At the Sept. 16 council meeting, the city manager reported that the city is still trending with revenues above expenditures and is on track to end the fiscal year with a positive balance, but urged attention to a new state audit deadline and to rising employee-benefits costs.
“ We are still trending, revenue over expenditures in, general fund,” the city manager said, urging council to review the encumbrance column because some credit-card charges were slow to post after a recent financial-system transition.
The manager said the city is caught up through July and expects minor year-end adjustments via an ordinance next month focused on nonoperating funds. He advised the auditor had completed preliminary fieldwork and the staff expects the audit to be approved at the council's second March meeting of 2026 to meet a legislative requirement that audits be completed within six months; if an audit is not completed the legislature now forces the adoption of the no-new-revenue tax rate.
On insurance, staff said initial renewal pricing reflected a 20% increase tied to demographic risk factors. The city has taken the benefit plans out to bid; the manager said the budget currently assumes a 9% increase but staff expects to absorb up to about 12–14% if necessary. He described a strategy of bundling supplemental coverages and negotiating with brokers to lower the net increase and noted the city’s current loss ratio on health coverage is 0.88 (88 cents paid out per dollar collected).
Sales tax receipts were reported about 1% under budget for the most recent month but remain above the five-year average. Hotel-occupancy tax is above budget and projected to remain strong into the next fiscal year.
No formal council action was required on these reports; staff said they would return with ordinance language for year-end adjustments and any contract action required if a benefits carrier change is chosen.
