City finance briefing: revenues up year‑over‑year but slightly under budget; personnel and NATO costs lift expenditures

City finance staff told the City Finance Committee at a midyear briefing that revenues through June are about $7.9 million, or 7.5 percent, higher than the same period last year but roughly $1.2 million (about 1 percent) under the adopted budget. Ms. Jones, the finance presenter, said the city’s largest revenue source, income tax, “remains flat compared to 2024.”

The presentation said other revenue categories drove most of the year‑over‑year gain. An interim cash transfer into the general fund occurred this year one month earlier than last year; that timing produced a large increase in the “other revenue” line, which staff said is not recurring. Jeanette, a finance staff member, explained that property tax advances from the county were higher this year as the county’s 2023 revaluation fed increased advance payments in 2025.

Why this matters: the brief front‑loads the risk that timing, not new ongoing receipts, explains much of the apparent revenue improvement. The finance team used a circuit‑breaker model based on a…