Lake Forest Park reviews December 2024 budget dashboard; traffic-safety revenues lag expected timing

Lake Forest Park’s Budget & Finance Committee reviewed the city’s December 2024 budget-monitoring dashboard on Feb. 25, hearing that most departments remained within adopted biennial appropriations but that several funds show timing-driven variances.

Finance Director (city staff) told the committee the city adopts budgets on a biennial basis covering Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 30, 2024, and that the dashboard reflects that two-year period. The director said operating departments “stayed within” budget for the most part, with a few “yellow” areas tied to ongoing activities such as police hiring.

The nut graf: the presentation showed the city generally met conservative revenue assumptions adopted two years ago, but staff cautioned some fund balances and capital projects reflect timing differences — not necessarily permanent shortfalls — and that traffic-safety citation receipts are subject to a lag because the city recognizes revenue on a cash basis.

Most-important findings

- Overall spending: Staff said most operating departments ran within adopted appropriations. The finance director highlighted police, sewer operations and street maintenance as the larger expenditure drivers.

- Fund percentages: The sewer utility appeared at about 104% of budgeted activity while the street fund showed roughly 95% (staff noted those percentages reflect the relationship of expenditures to the adopted two-year budgets). The finance director described these as “checks and balances” to examine revenue vs. expense timing.

- Traffic-safety fund timing: The committee discussed a newly created traffic-safety operations fund (Fund 002). The finance director said the December report contained only October and November activity for that fund and that January and February numbers — which were not in the packet — were “drastically different.” The director explained the city recognizes citation revenue when paid: “We are cash basis, meaning if that fine is paid … we won't be showing any of those dollars until there's a decision from that [hearing],” and that many tickets were pending hearings or other processing, which paused recognition of revenue.

Staff provided specific cash figures from the narrow window in the report: $112,799 was recorded for the period shown in the packet, and later months (December and January combined) increased receipts to more than $656,000, illustrating the timing effect staff described.

- Line-item revenues: Several revenues performed at or above conservative projections. Real estate excise tax came in about 99% of budgeted expectation, passport services performed strongly, and business and construction permit revenues exceeded budgeted assumptions in the biennial period. Sales-and-use tax and other lines were near projections and described by staff as intentionally conservative.

- Capital projects and timing: Staff walked the committee through capital projects on the dashboard: drainage construction on 30 Fifth Avenue (design/construction), overlay and ADA ramp work, I‑90 corridor design, SR‑104 design and the roundabout project (a 2025 project with grant funding expected from a TID and WSDOT). Staff explained many capital budgets show large adopted amounts with only design-phase costs expended to date and recommended a clearer CIP view separating design vs. construction budgets for future reporting.

Committee questions and follow-up directions

Councilmembers asked whether citation revenue is recognized at citation issuance or when drivers pay. The finance director reiterated the city’s cash-basis recognition and explained that hearings and court processing can freeze recognition until resolution. Councilmembers also asked for the more complete January–February numbers and for a capital dashboard that splits design and construction budgets and shows milestones; staff agreed to return with a CIP-style breakdown at an upcoming meeting, likely in April.

Ending

Staff emphasized the conservative revenue assumptions adopted in the two-year budget and thanked department directors for operating under lean conditions. The committee did not take formal policy action in the packet discussion; staff were directed to return with expanded traffic-safety revenue numbers and a CIP-style capital project presentation that separates design and construction phases.