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Tumwater finance director warns April sales tax hit lowest month in three years; city overall revenues remain on track
Summary
Finance Director Troy Neimeyer told the council the city saw an April dip in sales-tax collections — the lowest single month in three years — but overall general fund revenues are tracking close to budget and some tax categories (B&O) are up year to date.
Finance Director Troy Neimeyer told the Tumwater City Council on June 17, 2025, that the city saw its lowest single-month sales-tax collection in three years for April, but that other revenue streams and overall collections have so far kept the city on track for the fiscal year.
"Our April sales tax here in Tumwater also was the lowest single month collection in the last 3 years," Neimeyer said, and noted May improved, reducing some of the shortfall. In the presentation, staff reported total year-to-date sales-tax collections were "down, almost 4.9%" compared with the prior year and that, from a budget-to-actual perspective, sales tax collections were about 5.8% below budget through May.
Neimeyer emphasized the city's diversified revenue base, saying Tumwater is less dependent on sales tax than many cities and benefits from steady employment tied to the state capitol and other local employers. He also pointed to bright spots: the business-and-occupation tax was up about 7.5% year to date, property-tax timing had the city slightly ahead in collections and building-permit revenue was strong.
On expenditures, Neimeyer said the city had spent roughly 36.7% of general-fund expenditures while the year was about 41.6% complete, leaving a small cushion if revenues soften. He said large utility capital projects make some enterprise fund numbers appear low at present because those projects have not yet started.
Council members asked for clarification on causes of the April drop and for details about specific revenue lines. When Council member Angela Jefferson asked, "So what does that mean for us?" Neimeyer replied that the report was intended to highlight risks and that staff would continue monitoring sales-tax trends and other indicators.
No new budget actions were taken at the June 17 meeting. The consent calendar, which included the minutes, interlocal agreements and contract amendments, was approved by the council earlier in the meeting.
