Sherwood budget committee sees stronger-than-expected revenues; URA projects set to ramp up

Sherwood — The City of Sherwood Budget Committee and the Urban Renewal Agency (URA) met on Feb. 27, 2025, and reviewed midyear financial reports that show several revenue streams outperforming expectations while several large capital projects are about to ramp up.

City Manager Greg Shelton told committee members the December figures look solid and flagged that URA projects will begin spending in the coming months. “As we said last time when we had the budget meeting, the budget looks good as, we move through it,” Shelton said.

Finance staff member David reviewed fund-by-fund results, telling the committee that the general fund’s operating revenues were at about 63% of the adopted budget with property-tax collections at roughly 92% of budget as of the December snapshot. He warned that fines and forfeitures were behind plan at about 33% but said the shortfall appears manageable and can be adjusted without cutting personnel or core services.

The committee heard that transient lodging-tax receipts rose from about $26,000 at this point last year to roughly $98,000 this year, in part because a hotel payment from a prior year recently was collected. David said he expects to transfer a larger share of that money to the general fund and to the economic development and public-art funds after completing a supplemental budget.

On capital and investment funds, David reported that the Community Investment Fund’s interest receipts were unusually high (noting a timing and accounting reason) and that the URA has seen rapid assessed-value growth: "we saw assessed value growth of a little over 50%" in the first year of the URA plan, which has driven higher-than-expected property-tax revenue for the URA operations fund.

URA manager Craig Sheldon and David outlined major near-term projects tied to those revenues and to previously awarded grants and loans. Key items discussed: - Pedestrian (“Ped”) Bridge: State lottery funding of $4 million was cited; David said about $3.6 million has been reimbursed so far. Craig said the bridge is on schedule for substantial completion in the September time frame and that remaining contractor work will follow. - Ice Age Drive: David and Craig reported Ice Age Drive is out to bid (bids closing in March) and that construction could be visible this summer if the schedule holds. They said ODOT and state loans and grants are in place to support the project; some funding will be recognized as reimbursement revenue as expenses are incurred. - Tannery site cleanup / EPA grant: The project is under way but subject to federal funding schedules; the timeline and funding flow could shift if federal grant timing changes. - Broadband: Committee members heard that broadband customer sign-ups are ahead of original projections and that a $2.4 million interfund loan from the Community Investment Fund was taken in December to support broadband capital work. David said the loan will be recorded as debt service when payments begin and that interest will be recognized on the community investment side when broadband repays the loan.

Committee members also discussed other capital priorities including Cedar Creek Trail and Cedar Creek Crossing (numbers for long-range work are placeholders pending engineering), turf replacement costs at the fieldhouse and athletic fields, and an approximately $600,000 interfund loan forthcoming to the sanitary fund for the Schomburg project. Clean Water Services was cited as a partner on larger sanitary projects.

The committee spent time on process and presentation improvements: members asked for clearer presentation of transfers (showing transfers in and out rather than net amounts) and a clearer breakdown of operations vs. capital charges for services so the public can better understand revenue timing and internal transfers.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve Budget Committee minutes for Dec. 5, 2024, as amended — approved (motion recorded; no roll-call tally recorded in transcript). - Motion to adjourn the City of Sherwood Budget Committee meeting — approved. - Motion to approve URA budget committee minutes for Dec. 5, 2024 — approved.

The meeting closed with the committee noting several budget uncertainties to monitor in the next six months — chiefly fines and forfeitures in the general fund and potential federal grant- and levy-related headwinds — but members repeatedly described the city’s overall fiscal position as sound heading into the next biennium.

Members asked staff to return in May with a balanced proposed biennial budget and requested that departments list top unfunded priorities so the public and committee can see trade-offs made during budget development.