At the Surprise City Council work session on June 17, 2025, David, a finance presenter for the city, told the council the general fund was in good shape through March: “Revenues are, at a positive 4% over budget, expenses are at a negative 7.1% under budget, we're sitting good at the March.”

The quarterly presentation covered general fund resources through March 2025 and explained why year-to-date figures can differ from expectations: sales-tax receipts and charges for services were above budget, while spending on services lagged because many purchase orders are encumbered and will be paid later in the fiscal year.

“The bottom line upfront statement would be what? … This is we're good,” David said in response to a council question. He and council members noted personnel savings account for some of the expenditure variance and that services spending typically catches up as encumbrances are liquidated at year end.

Council members asked follow-up questions about the data. Councilmember Judd said, “So it looks like consumers are still spending,” and Councilmember Greenberg asked about the state reporting lag; David confirmed state-shared revenue has a two-month lag from the Department of Revenue. Councilmember Melton and others asked about timing for later reports; staff said the next comprehensive update that includes May and June data will come during the September meeting for the fiscal year ending in June.

The presentation flagged several figures that staff said explain the current position: local sales tax and charges for services combined were about 4% over budget through March; services spending showed an 18.1% reduction year to date (attributable to encumbrances); and the total position after one-time transfers was approximately 7.1% favorable.

No formal action or vote was taken on the financial report during the work session. Staff said they will return with year-end numbers after the close of the fiscal year.

The council set no new directives at the session beyond scheduling the next full-year report; the finance presenter said the city will report again in September with fiscal-year-through-June figures.