Committee forwards payroll and AP vouchers, hears May financial report citing $53M in bond proceeds and lodging-tax trends

The committee voted 2-0 to forward accounts-payable and payroll vouchers to the City Council consent agenda and heard a detailed May financial report from the city finance director (Steve).

The vouchers presented covered accounts payable from May 16, 2025, to June 15, 2025, and payroll for May 1–31, 2025. Staff asked the committee to forward the vouchers to the July 1 consent agenda; the motion carried on a 2-0 vote.

Finance Director Steve told the committee that a Juneteenth holiday and technical delays slightly changed the usual packet timing and that staff had restated prior months in the packet so that monthly financials would align. Steve reported that the city received $53,000,000 in bond proceeds for the maintenance and operations facility; to date staff had spent about $21,800,000 and showed approximately $32,600,000 unspent in bond proceeds.

On revenues, Steve said sales tax — the city’s largest local revenue source — was slightly unfavorable to budget in the current month (about half a percent down compared with the prior year’s same month) but that year-to-date figures were virtually even with last year. He said restricted utility tax revenue was favorable to budget by roughly $424,000. Lodging tax receipts remained a key positive in the city’s revenue mix, while real-estate excise tax (REET) receipts have lagged and were linked to national mortgage-rate effects.

Steve described one investment action: the city replaced a maturing Treasury that had been earning about 2.8% with a non-callable five-year Treasury that will yield about 4.06% on a $1 million purchase. He also reported an average portfolio yield of about 4.04% across invested balances. On risk, Steve said staff were maintaining liquidity at a conservative floor and acknowledged that when interest rates fall, investment revenue could decline (noting the state pool and short-term deposits as particularly rate-sensitive).

Committee members asked for clarification on property-tax collections and hotel-night data tied to large events. Steve said property-tax dollars measured in aggregate suggested collections were in line with levies and that parcel-level delinquency data were not part of the routine monthly report. On hotel metrics, staff said event promoters and hoteliers had reported substantial bookings for large events, and staff will continue to work with third-party data providers to refine those metrics.

The committee moved to forward the May 2025 monthly financial report to the July 1 consent agenda; the motion passed 2-0.