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Town reports first-quarter financials: gross receipts rising, reserves remain strong
Summary
Finance Director Jonathan Montoya told the council the town’s first-quarter financial position is stable, with gross receipts tax up year over year and an ending general-fund cash balance above $11 million; Montoya and staff said they will continue monitoring grants, vacancies and migration to the upgraded ERP system.
Director of Finance Jonathan Montoya presented the town’s first-quarter financial report for fiscal 2024–25, which showed a stable overall position and year-over-year gross-receipts growth.
Montoya said the town began the fiscal period with roughly $9.79 million in cash and investments and reported total general-fund revenue of about $5.08 million for the quarter, driven largely by local taxes and state-shared taxes. Gross receipts tax collections showed an increase compared with the prior year: Montoya reported an 18.89% average increase year over year and highlighted monthly variations, including a roughly 30.7% spike in January and continued receipts in August and September.
On expenditures, Montoya said the general fund’s year-to-date spending totaled about $3.00 million, representing roughly 20% of the annual budget across departments. He called out several departmental variances: finance expenditures included large insurance payments, and the executive department included terminal-leave payments. The town’s vacancy rate across positions was reported at about 19.7%.
Investment income and interest were positive contributors in the quarter: Montoya reported roughly $215,092 in interest and investment earnings across accounts. Montoya also briefed the council on other funds, including special revenue, grants, enterprise funds (solid waste, wastewater, landfill) and capital funds, noting major capital outlays and the capital-project cash position. He said the town’s capital fund beginning cash was large and that capital expenditures included civic-center re-roofing and an airport terminal project.
Montoya and councilors discussed several operational items: the town’s migration to an upgraded ENCODE ERP system, the timing of grant reimbursements and the status of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Montoya said the town completed required ARPA reporting and has discretionary balances for equipment, housing and community programming; staff said some ARPA allocations were planned but not yet encumbered.
Ending — Next steps
Staff will continue reconciliation and move remaining audits toward completion. Councilors asked for follow-ups on specific line items (for example, corrections/care-of-prisoners expenses and parking enforcement reimbursements) and asked finance to include personnel and operating costs tied to parking reconciliation in future reports.
