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Finance director: Tumwater ended 2023–24 biennium stronger than budgeted; 2025 sales-tax pace under close watch
Summary
Finance Director Troy reported the city closed the 2023–24 biennium with revenues and expenditures both better than expected, including $3.2 million more in sales tax than budgeted; early 2025 receipts are slightly below seasonal expectations and will be monitored closely.
Finance Director Troy briefed the Tumwater City Council on April 8 with a quarterly financial update that covered how the city closed the 2023–24 biennium and the early 2025 revenue picture.
Troy said the city intentionally budgeted conservatively for the 2023–24 biennium expecting a recession that did not materialize; the result was roughly $5.7 million more general-fund revenue than budgeted and about $5.6 million under budget in general-fund expenditures for the biennium. On sales tax specifically he reported about $3.2 million more in receipts than originally budgeted for the period.
Turning to 2025, Troy said year-to-date collections (three months into the year) show sales tax at about 22.4% of the annual budget while the fiscal year is about 25% complete; he cautioned that January and February are typically slow months and said staff will be “watching it like a hawk.” He noted timing effects for several revenue lines (property tax receipts and utility tax lagging collections due to billing cycles) and that some variances reflect seasonality rather than structural weakness.
On enterprise funds he reminded council that planned large capital projects — notably a maintenance and operations center and a new water storage tank and infrastructure — drive very large biennial budgets (each project estimated in the tens of millions of dollars) and that low year-to-date spending in those funds reflects project timing rather than underperformance.
Troy also summarized internal matters: the finance team of about 12 staff coordinated the ERP implementation, addressed earlier payroll problems (particularly for complex police and fire payrolls) and continues to staff and adjust the payroll function; he said most payroll issues have been remedied though some minor re-allocations remain. He reported the department identified potentially 294 additional lifeline utility customers for assistance outreach.
Council members asked about state and federal budget uncertainty and bond-market implications for upcoming financings; Troy said staff are monitoring legislative developments and interest-rate trends and noted possible opportunities if market rates fall when financing is needed. He said the budget and finance committee will meet monthly and that the finance department will provide quarterly updates to council going forward.
