Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Finance Community Center topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Upper Arlington finance director reports healthy income-tax receipts; community center opens with strong membership
Summary
Finance director says income-tax receipts are above budget while staff explain temporary negative balances in capital equipment and solid-waste funds; the city reports the new community center has more than 5,500 members after one week of operations.
The Upper Arlington finance director told the City Council on April 14 that income-tax receipts are running above expectations while two restricted funds showed temporary negative balances.
Finance Director Lewis said the city’s income tax is about 4% above the adopted budget for the first two months of the year and about 6% higher than at the same point last year. “Income tax is looking good,” Lewis said during the finance report for February 2025.
Lewis highlighted two items of note in the February report: a negative fund balance in the capital equipment fund and a negative revenue number in the solid-waste fund. She said the capital equipment shortfall reflects ordered equipment and that real-estate tax receipts arriving in March and an internal transfer from the general fund will correct that balance when the March report is prepared.
On the solid-waste fund, Lewis said the negative balance stems from two factors: (1) staff have not yet processed a transfer to cover an earlier fee waiver for first-half utility charges, and (2) the waiver caused an accounting allocation issue because utility payments are split across solid waste, stormwater and neighborhood lighting components. Lewis said the city expects the allocation issue to correct itself when the second-half bills are issued and delinquent special-assessment payments posted in March.
Councilmember Kulowitz asked how the city will track the community center’s financial performance; Lewis said the city will include a financial statement for the community center in the monthly packet, likely beginning with the April report. Councilmember Kulowitz also asked whether recent market movements require any investment changes; Lewis said the city remains conservative and is in touch with its investment adviser.
Assistant City Manager Theo reported that the community center opened officially on April 6 and entered full operations a week before the meeting. “Membership numbers are over 5,500 now,” Theo told the council, a figure staff said exceeds initial projections of roughly 2,500 and sits within the planning range of 3,000–6,000 as operations normalize. Theo said operations have been “going well” and cited about 1,600 visitors at the ribbon-cutting event.
The council approved the consent agenda at the start of the meeting; the finance report and legislative items referenced at first reading will return for council action at later meetings.
