Hays City Commission approves February 2025 financial report

The Hays City Commission voted unanimously to approve the February 2025 financial report after a presentation by Finance staff that highlighted year-over-year increases in investments and sales tax collections.

City Finance staff reported the city's investment portfolio and cash positions rose compared with last year. The airport improvement account increased by about $29,000 and total cash/investments were reported as higher by roughly $2,615,654 year over year. Staff noted timing differences for several line items: a one-time timing shift for library allocations, health insurance showing a near-term increase due to two months of invoices, and higher IT contractual costs driven in part by a move to cloud-based financial software.

The presentation also summarized sales-tax receipts. Month-to-date general fund sales tax collections were reported at $935,000, a roughly $6,900 increase from the same month last year, and year-to-date general fund sales taxes were reported up $78,745 (about 4.7%). County sales tax collections were also reported higher year-to-date.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about sales tax seasonality and timing; staff explained collections are recorded with a two-month lag, meaning February receipts largely reflect December activity. After discussion, Commissioner Musil moved to approve the report and Commissioner Barrick seconded. The motion passed by voice vote with all commissioners saying "aye."

The commission did not request any immediate policy changes based on the report; commissioners thanked staff for the overview and noted continued monitoring of revenue and expenditure timing.

Looking ahead, staff will continue monthly reporting and will present additional details to the commission if material variances develop.