Chief Financial Officer Steven Dobson told the Fayetteville City Council on June 3 that taxable sales for March 2025 in Fayetteville totaled approximately $298,000,000, an increase of about 8.3% compared with March 2024.

The figure, Dobson said during the council meeting, was driven in part by the manufacturing sector, which increased by more than $12 million, and gains in transportation and warehousing. Dobson also discussed the city's April 2025 monthly financials, saying several funds were above budget while others lagged.

Dobson framed the March increase as both year-over-year and budgetary gains. "Taxable sales in the city totaled approximately 298,000,000, which was an increase of nearly 8.3% or 23,000,000 compared to March of 2024," he said. He reported the combined city and county sales-tax collections for March were up about 8% (roughly $390,000) compared with March 2024 and that year-to-date combined sales tax was up about 5.56% (about $1 million) versus the prior year.

On budget comparisons, Dobson said the city's portion of the 1-cent sales tax was about 5% above budget for March, with the county portion up 4.7%. He reported a combined month-over-budget increase of roughly 4.92% and year-to-date budget performance about 2.48% higher (approximately $476,000) than forecast.

Turning to April financials, Dobson said property tax revenue in the general fund was about 11% above budget (roughly $210,000) and building-permit fees were up 8% for the month, producing about $507,000 in April permit receipts. The general fund, he said, was about 1% ahead year-to-date (approximately $264,000). He noted the parking fund saw charges for services down about 6% while fines and fees rose roughly 33%, an increase Dobson attributed to improved collections rather than more citations.

Dobson also summarized other funds: Water and Sewer charges for services were up about 3% year-to-date, the Parks Development Fund saw HMR tax collections up about 11% (roughly $154,000), and recycling and trash franchise fees rose about 30% (around $30,000). He said airport gasoline sales and flight operations were each down about 10% but expected to recover in one to two months. Dobson added that the city was beginning to include the new stormwater utility fund in monthly reporting and that the fund had no expenses at the time of his presentation.

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about specific line items, including the Parks Development Fund's spike in charges for services, which Dobson said was due to square-to-square registrations occurring in April rather than fall as usual. Councilmember Turk confirmed the year-to-date comparisons were against the city's 2025 budget.

The report was received for information; no formal council action was recorded on the financial presentation at the June 3 meeting.