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City reports healthy 2024 year-end balance and outlines budget management priorities
Summary
City staff presented the budget development program and a 2024 financial wrap-up, reporting a general-fund year-end balance of about $8.5 million, robust sales-tax and investment income, and planned uses including library capital and Trailhead prepayments.
City staff presented the 2024 year-end financial snapshot and the city’s budget-development and management program at the March 4 council meeting, reporting steady revenue streams and a general-fund year-end balance of approximately $8.5 million.
Why it matters: The report shows the city closed 2024 with a healthy reserve position, giving council flexibility to fund near-term capital projects such as library planning, trailhead financing prepayment and street improvements while staff develops longer-range investment and capital funding strategies.
Key figures and points presented by finance staff (Kyle, finance staff): - General fund year-end balance: about $8,500,000. - Sales and use tax: staff budgeted conservatively for $6.6 million in 2025; 2024 collections were roughly 3% higher than 2023 and continued to outpace conservative budgets. - Transportation Benefit District (TBD) sales tax: estimated at about $822,000 annually (0.1% rate dedicated to streets); first disbursements began in 2024. - Property tax: collections have hovered at roughly the budgeted percentages; the city has an accumulated unused capacity (revenue recapture) of approximately $340,000 related to tax-rate capacity. - Investment income: short-term (30-day average) yields around 4.4 percent, materially higher than recent years and contributing meaningful unrestricted revenue. - REIT and one-time reimbursements: some large, one-time reimbursements and REIT (real estate improvement tax) receipts affected reporting; staff adjusted monthly reports to present a clearer picture. - Golf operations: operating revenues reached about $1.36 million in 2024 (a 22% increase year over year); simulator generated nearly $80,000.
Staff described ongoing and near-term uses for the city’s reserves, including library capital planning, Trailhead debt prepayment and street and stormwater capital projects such as Sprague Avenue overlay. The city continues to evaluate state and county shared revenues (public safety, affordable housing carve-outs) and to plan restricted reserves for obligations such as tourism and stormwater projects.
City Administrator Mark said council will review a strategic investment plan workshop later in March to identify concrete capital-funding strategies tied to the council’s priorities. Finance staff said they will bring quarterly reports and any recommended policy updates on investments and prepayment strategies back to council.
There was no formal council action on these numbers at the meeting; the session was informational.
