Sales tax receipts climb; finance staff projects EFID fund to remain above $4 million for three years

Finance staff told the Finance and Audit Committee July 8 that local sales-tax collections showed growth and that projections keep the Economic/Enterprise Fund (EFID) balance above a $4 million threshold for several years at current levels.

"For our final month of the year, the EFID was up 6.89%. So for the year, we were up 3.2%," said Mr. McNeely, the staff presenter. He told members the system is trending back toward a 4%–4.5% growth line that has been common in recent decades and that he budgeted conservatively for 2% growth in the 2025'26 budget.

McNeely walked the committee through an EFID chart showing actual balances and projections. He said the fund dipped when a stipend was paid in November, then trended up, and that the current projection would keep the balance above $4 million for about three more years at present stipend and revenue assumptions. "If we were to increase that stipend, it would greatly cause it to decrease much faster than we want it to," he said.

McNeely cited online shopping and inflation as likely contributors to sustained sales-tax growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, and he described the 2-cent sales-tax summary that closed the year at about 4.4% annual growth. He said the 2% assumption in the 2025'26 budget reflects a conservative planning stance despite optimistic recent months.

This agenda item was informational; no committee action or vote was taken. Committee members had no additional questions after the presentation and the meeting adjourned.

The finance presentation materials include charts of actual EFID balances, projections and the 2-cent sales-tax year-over-year summary.