Greeley staff present preliminary 2024 financial results, larger grant awards and audit timeline to council

City finance leaders on March 25 presented the Greeley City Council with preliminary year‑end financial results for 2024, an update on grants and an audit timetable, saying one‑time revenues and lower-than-expected expenditures produced additional resources that the council has begun to allocate.

Why it matters: The briefing detailed temporary resources that helped the city close 2024 in a stronger-than-expected position, but staff also flagged risks — slower sales‑tax growth, lower new construction and volatile oil‑and‑gas receipts — that could reduce capital funding and delay projects in 2025.

The presentation was led by Tara (title given in the presentation) with division treasurer Robert Miller, Grant and Special Revenue Manager Stacy Swanson and Budget Director Caleb White at the table. “The purpose of our presentation is informational,” Tara said as she opened the session. Miller summarized economic conditions and the city’s cash position: “The City monitors current economic conditions to ensure financial stability for the City,” he said, noting projected declines in statewide tax collections, modest interest‑rate declines expected later in 2025 and rising unemployment in recent data.

Staff said the city maintained elevated cash and investments at year‑end 2024 and recognized about $14.2 million in interest earnings for 2024. Miller said several one‑time items — oil‑and‑gas receipts and a Federal Transit Administration reimbursement — helped produce roughly $15 million in one‑time general‑fund resources that the council could allocate; the first additional appropriation presented March 18 included recommendations to spend about $3.9 million of that total. Miller cautioned that if 2025 continues at recently observed slower growth rates, the capital program could face a potential $19.8 million shortfall concentrated in capital improvement funds, while the general fund should be able to absorb some decline using contingency reserves created in the adopted 2025 budget.

Swanson reviewed grants activity for 2024 and the fourth quarter, saying the city recorded roughly $24 million in grants awarded in Q4 and that total annual grant awards increased year over year. She said the city’s Water and Sewer department received the bulk of grant dollars in 2024 — including a lead service‑line identification and replacement loan of about $20.9 million — and that Public Works and the Merge transit project together accounted for large federal awards. Swanson said total 2024 grant awards grew by roughly $34 million compared with the prior year. She also described the newly created Grants Division’s work on policies, workflows and a pending eSIVIS grant software implementation and said staff are preparing the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards for auditors.

On federal delays, Swanson said a U.S. Department of Agriculture freeze had minimally affected the city so far and that two USDA‑funded city grants were experiencing reimbursement delays; she said staff and the city’s intergovernmental relations officer have been communicating with federal contacts in Washington. Miller and Swanson told council they expect some federal awards to slow over the next six months as applications are held up or re‑scoped.

Audit timeline: Budget staff said the city contracted with Clint Moran to perform the fiscal‑year 2024 audit and that preliminary fieldwork was completed in January 2025. The draft Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards will go to auditors and fieldwork is scheduled for four weeks starting April 16, with staff and auditors aiming to issue the annual comprehensive financial report and single‑audit reports by June 30.

Council questions focused on the grant delays, what grants were federal versus state, the timing of award letters versus obligated contracts and the city’s plan for quarterly updates. Councilor Debuting praised the staff for securing added grant funds and asked whether USDA delays affected water and fire‑mitigation projects; staff said they had engaged directly with federal administrators and expect some delays but not major current impacts to awarded projects. Councilor Olson and others pressed staff for more details on funding sources broken down by federal/state and for future quarterly briefings on emerging 2025 trends. Staff said they will present a first‑quarter update and the auditors’ July audited numbers.

Ending: Staff emphasized the presentation was preliminary and said further, more detailed audited information will follow in summer reports. The presentation concluded with council thanks to the finance team and recognition of Budget Director Caleb White, who was leaving the city for another opportunity.