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Medical Lake finance director delivers first-quarter budget report; amendments eyed for train depot, public safety costs
Summary
Finance director presented Q1 financials showing revenues at 22% and expenses at 26% of year-to-date expectations; council was told proposed budget amendments will cover a train-depot land purchase and unbudgeted public-safety costs including a jail settlement adjustment.
Finance Director Rontel presented the City of Medical Lake’s first-quarter 2025 financial report on April 15, reporting revenues at roughly 22% of annual expectations and expenditures at about 26%.
Rontel told the council the revenue shortfall is typical for April because the first half of property taxes generally arrive in May and several large expenses — notably citywide insurance — are paid up front each January. He said grants tied to project work were at 43% because “a lot of work is being done and completed,” citing the city’s PFOS groundwater study administered with Eastern Washington University.
The city’s administrative services account was at 90% of budget, Rontel said, “simply because of the train depot purchase,” and he recommended a budget amendment to cover that land purchase. He identified the train-depot purchase amount as $355,472 in later remarks when summarizing expected amendments.
Rontel also described strains in the public-safety fund that will require an amendment. He said a late county invoice and an unbudgeted contract escalator for the sheriff’s contract — a roughly 3% monthly increase — combined with a settlement adjustment related to county jail charges pushed public-safety expenses above expectations. He described a $22,000 settlement adjustment the city received tied to higher-than-anticipated jail days and said staff expect the county’s billing model (a two-year averaging system) to continue affecting future invoices.
On other funds, Rontel said streets preservation and seal projects are moving forward (about 8.5 miles of chip/seal work planned this year), water revenues remain seasonal and below target for spring, and wastewater revenues are running higher because of contract billing. He noted grants and ARPA-funded projects are on schedule and that ARPA obligations were timely, leaving the city until the 2026 deadline to spend allocated funds.
Council members asked staff to bring back formal budget amendment ordinances that reflect the depot purchase, the public-safety adjustments totaling about $115,023, and smaller adjustments (for example, a roughly $500 increase to animal control contract costs). Rontel said the quarterly transfers that normally appear at this stage will be processed by Quarter 2.
Ending: Rontel said staff will present the proposed amendments to council later this spring and will continue to monitor revenues and project billing as summer spending ramps up.
