Tumwater finance director: year-to-date revenues look low because of timing; building permits remain strong

At the Feb. 25, 2025 Tumwater Budget and Finance Committee meeting, Troy, Finance Director, told the committee that several major revenue lines appear low year to date because large receipts (notably property tax and state sales-tax distributions) have not yet been received.

Troy said the general-fund property-tax budget is just over $10,000,000 and that only $214,000 has been posted so far; he noted the city typically receives its first large distribution in April and a larger second distribution in October. "We don't receive our first big chunk of property tax until April," Troy said, adding that timing explains the low percentage through the end of February.

Why it matters: timing of receipts makes year-to-date percentages misleading. Committee members were asked to evaluate trends over multiple months rather than a single biannual snapshot.

Tro…