Troy Niemeyer, Tumwater finance director, told the Budget and Finance Committee on July 25, 2025, that June sales-tax collections rose by about $34,000 compared with June 2024, trimming the year-to-date shortfall to roughly $6,200 (about 0.13 percent) on a month-over-month basis.
The update covered other revenue lines and expenditures. Niemeyer said the recently created public-safety sales tax showed a month-over-month increase of about $6,200 in June, and business-and-occupation (B&O) tax collections were up about 4.27 percent year to date. Building-permit revenue is already above 100 percent of forecast, while property-tax receipts will appear later in the year (major receipts arrive in October and November), a timing effect that he said depresses year-to-date percentages now.
Niemeyer said that, because the committee's report used data through June, sales-tax collections equaled roughly 43.5 percent of the annual forecast through the halfway point; he contrasted that with a baseline comparison point of 50 percent to account for the missing July numbers. On the expenditure side, he reported that total general-fund spending was about 48 percent through June, below the 58.3 percent pacing point used for a full-year comparison; employee benefits for the most recent payroll were not yet posted and would add roughly 1.2 percentage points when included.
On the local economy and risks, Niemeyer summarized national indicators the committee should monitor: a preliminary forecast he found expected second-quarter GDP to be positive (he cited a 1.7 percent preliminary forecast), June's consumer-price index rose to 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent in May, and unemployment fell from 4.2 percent in May to 4.1 percent in June. He cautioned that higher inflation would make interest-rate cuts less likely.
Niemeyer also told the committee that Tumwater's annual audit will begin Aug. 1. He said the city has budgeted about $80,000 for the audit, which will include an audit of the financial statements (the annual comprehensive financial report), a single audit of federal funds, and an accountability audit of compliance with state laws and internal controls. Senior accountant Nisa will serve as the city's audit liaison.
Committee members briefly discussed whether the timing of future budget-and-finance meetings should move to after the first of the month so staff can include more current data in monthly reports; Niemeyer said he would try to provide the date when the report was pulled so members understood the data cut-off.
Niemeyer and committee members limited their remarks to the figures and timing issues in the report; there were no formal budget actions taken at the July 25 meeting.