Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Seguin finance director reports stronger revenues and higher expenditures in first quarter
Summary
The city’s finance director presented the quarterly report through Dec. 31, 2024: revenues year-to-date were above last year, property taxes and building permits were up, and several fund transfers were made early in the fiscal year.
Susan, the city’s finance director, presented the financial report for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2024, noting that revenues were ahead of budget in several categories while expenditures remain under budget for the quarter.
Susan told council that general-fund revenues are 35.3% of budget and expenditures are 31.6% of budget through the first quarter (the first quarter is 25% of the budget year). “We budgeted to use $3,247,763 in fund balance,” she said, and added that property-tax collections are strong early in the year (48.1% of budget) because the city collects a substantial share of property taxes in the first three months.
Highlights from the presentation
- Year-over-year comparisons: Revenues were up about 10.6% compared with the prior year; expenditures were up 19.2%.
- Taxes and permit revenue: Property tax receipts rose by about $750,000 versus the same period last year. Building-permit revenue was up roughly $380,000 (an increase of nearly 100% from this time last year).
- Sales tax: Sales-tax receipts were up 11.1% year over year; December included a large audit payment to the city of $187,573, making December the city’s highest monthly receipt in recent months.
- Utilities and customer growth: Electric and water revenues and customer counts increased year over year; water customers rose about 10% and sewer revenues were up about 15.3%.
- Grants and capital transfers: The city continues to spend ARPA funds and large grant awards; Susan noted the city lists about $54 million in grants for streets and drainage in the packet. She also explained that some transfers and non-departmental spending were front-loaded (for example, indigent health-care payments and transfers to capital projects).
Susan and council discussed several follow-up items, including timing of transfers, the source of lease revenues and the ongoing audit collections. Susan said staff will return with more detail if council requests further breakdowns.
Why it matters
The report shows the city receiving strong revenue early in the fiscal year, driven by property taxes, building permits and sales-tax receipts. Staff cautioned that some expenditures and transfers occur early in the year and that the figures reflect the first quarter only.
Provenance
Presentation and figures given by Susan, finance director (transcript segments: transcript-870.09-1013.295 and transcript-1256.51-1305.545).
