County finance staff briefed the Finance Committee on May 6 about selected sales‑tax revenue (including the county share of state collections and the cannabis tax) through March 31, and provided an update on cash reserves and internal disbursements.

Finance Director Karen (last name not specified in transcript) explained that the report covered ‘‘select’’ sales taxes (primary lines but not every tax the county collects) through March 31; she said the county uses a conservative revenue budget and noted a processing lag (about 90 days) for sales‑tax receipts. The committee reviewed tables comparing fiscal‑year‑to‑date collections against the budget and comparisons of liability months year‑over‑year. Karen said only a few line items were slightly below the prior year, while most lines were up and overall collections to date were modestly higher than last year.

On the cannabis tax, staff presented inception‑to‑date collections (fiscal 2020 through March 2025) and noted early‑year numbers for fiscal 2025 are small because they cover only one month in that chart. The committee discussed how cannabis tax distributions have been used; staff said disbursements in prior years included internal transfers and seed funding for child‑care and small‑business grants, and they described a reimbursement model for small child‑care grants (up to $10,000 on a reimbursement basis).

A committee member asked about cash reserves. Karen said the county measures cash reserves at year‑end to ensure the corporate fund can cover roughly the first six months of the fiscal year before property‑tax receipts come in; she said the county exceeded a 25% threshold in December but had drawn the reserve down and the February snapshot showed a roughly 13% reserve figure. Staff predicted the county would meet the 25% threshold again by the November 30 measurement if current assumptions hold and no additional reserve draws are made.

Committee members asked for clarifications on the grant processes that used cannabis funds and how the application process is being administered; staff said Amplifund (grant management software purchased with ARPA dollars) is being used and that the county executive’s office (through Samantha Markham) manages the child‑care and small‑business disbursement process. Members requested better transparency on application materials and review criteria; committee working‑group members said the budget process and caucus review were also part of the selection and approval path for these disbursements.

No budget amendments were adopted at the meeting on this item; committee members asked staff to return with requested clarifications and materials to show how cannabis tax funds have been allocated and the criteria for grants that were dispersed from that revenue stream.