Roswell officials report strong first-quarter finances, push KPIs and project management overhaul

Don Stevens, chief operating officer, told the Roswell City Council committee meeting on April 29 that the city began 2025 with a stronger-than-expected first quarter and is rolling out a quarterly management review to tie service outcomes to budgeting and major projects. "We're clearly moving much quicker than we were previously," Stevens said during the presentation.

The presentation, given by Stevens with Bill Godshall, chief financial officer, laid out a framework the city will use to measure service delivery, financial performance and delivery on major initiatives such as economic development and infrastructure work. Godshall told the committee Roswell’s cash position improved during the last two reporting periods: audited unrestricted cash was $72 million at June 30, 2024, and the city reported unrestricted cash of about $82 million and $88 million at more recent closing dates. "Our unrestricted cash exceeds our general fund balance by about 2x," Godshall said.

Why it matters: City leaders said the new approach — monthly business reviews at the department level, integrated KPIs and a quarterly management review for mayor and council — will make budgeting more forward-looking, give earlier warning of problems and support multi-year strategic planning. Stevens described the approach as a move from project-level management to portfolio or program management intended to keep service delivery steady while the city pursues many large projects.

Key details: Stevens said the city is managing roughly 11 economic development projects and more than 50 major projects across economic development and infrastructure; some have values described in the presentation as ranging from tens of millions to upwards of a billion dollars. He described the leadership team’s effort to standardize scorecards and monthly business reviews so operating and support departments (finance, HR, IT) present integrated information in one meeting.

On operations and staffing, Stevens and other speakers said the organization is implementing measures across four service dimensions — safe, clean, reliable and responsive — and is mapping time-bound measures for permitting and other workflows. Stevens said roughly 35 open positions remain across operating departments including environmental public works, transportation and recreation and parks, with about half in a long open-window (90–120 days).

On finance, Godshall said year-to-date revenues were ahead of budget for the first quarter and reported the city was about $1.2 million ahead of budget through March 31, 2025. He described steps to improve monthly financial reporting, establish a grant strategy aligned with city priorities and resume monthly bond updates tied to the ERP system. Godshall said the city’s audited general fund balance was $34 million on June 30, 2024, and reported fluctuations to $29.4 million at Dec. 31, 2024 and $39.4 million at March 31, 2025.

Council reaction and next steps: Mayor Kurt Wilson and several council members praised the leadership team’s work and the emphasis on measurable goals. Council members asked for continued updates on recruiting and the city’s ability to execute large projects while maintaining service delivery. Stevens and Godshall said the scorecards and monthly business reviews will continue to be refined and that the city will return to council with the operations dashboard and the formalized quarterly package.

The committee did not take formal action on the quarterly review itself; presenters said the package will underpin future budget and policy decisions and that the city will publish the monthly and quarterly reports to the council and, upon approval, to the public.