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Treasurer outlines unusual revenue swing and planned uses of General Fund balance
Summary
City Treasurer Sonya Andrews reviewed a five‑year revenue and expenditure history for the General Fund, explaining pandemic stimulus, land sales and capital transfers that produced atypical fund balances and outlining proposed transfers, PSPRS payments and contingencies included in the FY2025–26 budget.
City Treasurer Sonya Andrews briefed the Budget Review Commission on the General Fund’s recent revenue and expenditure history and on staff recommendations for FY2025–26 use of fund balance.
Andrews reviewed a multi‑year context: the pandemic, federal stimulus funds, a subsequent housing market surge that increased state shared revenues, and a large one‑time land sale that allowed the city to transfer substantial sums into capital projects in recent years. She noted pension cost increases related to PSPRS actuarial changes and that housing and state tax changes have reduced some revenue lines since the peak of the recent revenue spike.
“Starting with the pandemic… we received almost 60,000,000 in federal stimulus funds to pay for COVID related expenses and public safety expenses that we would have otherwise paid out of the general fund,” Andrews said. She added that the city transferred roughly $226 million to capital projects from fiscal years 2022–25 in part because of land‑sale proceeds and other one‑time revenues. Andrews also explained the city raised its operating reserve policy to 25% of operating expenditures and that the treasurer’s proposed FY2025–26 uses include scheduled PSPRS payments, transfers to capital and a planned drawdown of a portion of fund balance.
Under the proposed FY2025–26 plan presented to the commission, staff showed projected General Fund revenues of about $441.8 million and operating expenditures of roughly $410.2 million before transfers and a PSPRS payment. After transfers to capital, debt service and other uses, the budget shows total uses of about $521.5 million and a planned pull from fund balance to balance the five‑year plan. Andrews emphasized that the recent revenue increases were extraordinary and not a sustainable base for ongoing operations.
Commissioners asked about the PSPRS payment and the mechanics of defeasing or calling debt; Andrews explained legal and timing constraints for calling certain debt and that the treasurer’s office tracks fund balances and planned transfers in budget book pages for council review. No action was taken by the commission; staff said the proposed General Fund plan will be included in the full proposed budget sent to council for adoption.
