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County reports FY25 second-quarter status: General Fund at about 53% of budget through Dec. 31
Summary
Budget manager Cheryl Holland told the board the county's FY25 General Fund was roughly 53% expended by the second quarter, noted uses of fund balance and explained timing differences in tax and fee collections that affect midyear comparisons.
Cheryl Holland, the county budget manager, updated the Board of Supervisors on James City County’s General Fund through the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 (period ending Dec. 31, 2024).
Why it matters: midyear revenue and expenditure patterns shape the county’s operating outlook and inform decisions about the five-year capital improvement plan and the FY26 budget.
Holland presented the FY25 revised General Fund budget at $273.5 million (the adopted budget was $255.4 million). General property taxes, the county’s largest revenue source, reflect real-estate reassessment increases and collections from the first regular billing cycle; the second billing is scheduled for June 5. Holland explained that other revenues follow different timing: local sales tax is received two months in arrears and excise taxes (meals and lodging) arrive one month in arrears, so December figures represent partial-year collections for those lines.
Holland said recurring state and federal revenues were steady versus the prior year and noted an increase in charges for services partly attributable to an October 2024 increase in the monthly recycling fee from $7 to $10.50. The county has used $24.6 million of fund balance in FY25 for multiple items Holland listed, including a $6.5 million one‑time real-estate tax credit, about $12.5 million supporting CIP and debt service, $2.74 million for Settlers Market Road improvements, $500,000 for property purchase and $287,000 for a one‑time staff leave payout. Excluding the one‑time real‑estate tax credit, year‑over‑year change in Q2 was roughly $8.87 million, Holland said, primarily tied to the reassessment.
On expenditures, Holland reported overall spending and encumbrances at about 53% of the budget through the second quarter. She noted that some areas track above 50% for timing reasons: information technology often pays annual maintenance and software contracts early; contributions and transfers include early payments to outside agencies and July transfers; and encumbrances reflect purchase orders issued early in the fiscal year.
Holland concluded by inviting board questions and said more robust data for business license taxes and other annual revenues will be available after the March 1 due date for business license filings.
Ending: The presentation was informational. Holland will return with updated data as the county moves into third-quarter reporting and as the FY26 budget process proceeds.
