Jackson City staff report lower-than-expected sales tax, complete Tyler Munis tax conversion and present multiple budget amendments

City staff reported to the Jackson City Budget Committee that July non-property tax revenue showed mixed results, the city has completed a conversion to Tyler Munis for property tax collection, and staff presented several proposed budget amendments and grant recognitions for the committee’s consideration.

Frank, a city staff member, said July non-property tax receipts were “less than expected,” adding that “local option sales tax were about $75,000 less than the same period last year, but about $15,000 more than they were in June of this year.” He said state sales tax receipts for the period were about $19,000 higher than the same period last year and reminded the committee that state shared revenue allocations are distributed to cities based on population.

The staff presentation put the first-period FY 2026 non-property tax revenue at an average roughly 3.2% below the same period in the prior year, while noting the city had collected “$121,000 more in non property tax revenue than we had at the same time last year,” a single-month comparison that staff cautioned is not a reliable trend indicator. Staff also reported that the 12-month rolling average for non-property tax revenue has fallen back to the level seen in May 2024. On property taxes, staff said collections are “in line with the same period last year” and that the city has “a little more than $1,310,000 left in FY, excuse me, tax year ’24 taxes to collect.”

On expenses, staff pointed to a new year-to-date expense report broken down by department and subdepartment. “At this time, at the June, you should expect about 8.3% of your budget to have been spent,” Frank said, and reported the city is seeing about 7.2% spent year to date, which he described as “operating slightly under budget” for July. He also explained the report shows encumbrances — purchase orders issued but not yet expended — and that department supervisors will be monitored so the city can request transfers or amendments if lines need adjustment.

Staff reported completion of the property tax collection conversion to Tyler Munis. “We have completed our property tax collection conversion in Tyler, Munis. And so we're now accepting property tax payments in Tyler,” Frank said, explaining the conversion centralizes major revenue receipts in one system, reduces import errors and removes manual steps that previously required staff corrections in the general ledger.

The city continues to evaluate the optional Tyler Munis business tax module. “The only major module left is the business tax module, and we are actively evaluating whether we actually need this module,” Frank said, noting the module is costly and duplicates functionality in the state's business tax system. He said the state system remains the interface taxpayers use and that information must still be manually entered on the state website, so staff are weighing whether to discontinue the local module if it adds no significant benefit.

Staff said the city has received the 2025 property tax file from the state and is preparing to import it into Tyler Munis. They expect to load the tax file, finalize bill proofing and submit printed tax notices for mailing; staff said mailing notices in early September would give taxpayers additional time to plan payments before the tax year begins in October. Staff also reported that property tax relief and property tax freeze applications are printed and available; staff encouraged eligible residents — including elderly, disabled and service-disabled veterans — to apply. “It doesn't cost the city of Jackson anything to issue that relief because it's paid for with that sales tax increment,” Frank said.

Staff presented a set of proposed budget amendments and recognitions to the committee; the items were listed for the record to satisfy the requirement that they be presented to the budget committee. The items described were: proposed budget amendment No. 10 to recognize an insurance recovery for a street department tractor; No. 11 to recognize a Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grant for $44,370 for billboards, equipment and a HEPA filter system; No. 15 to recognize a Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) summer job/connect grant used for youth summer workers, technology subscriptions and program items; No. 17 to transfer $55,000 in ARPA funds toward a paving equipment trailer to enable in-house paving; No. 18 to recognize insurance recovery for City Hall and the NED for water-related damage; No. 19 to transfer $25,500 for planning contractual services for the Commerce Street project (intended to cover engineering work this year); and No. 20 to transfer $175,000 from rec admin equipment and $250,000 from rec admin buildings — a total of $425,000 — to the senior center to permit near completion of that facility. Staff noted some ADA-related building funds may be restored when bond proceeds are received.

Tyler, a city staff member, described the CFE grant implementation: the grant covered summer youth workers at Westwood and T.R. White camps and supported programmatic financial workshops, a reality fair, and a registration/communication software subscription for Parks and Recreation. Tyler said 54 youth participated this summer and that “about 12% of those signed up for a new account.”

Committee members and staff exchanged clarifying questions at several points. A city official noted difficulty locating the ordinance language that prescribes penalty and interest for delinquent property taxes during preparation of the Tyler Munis import; staff traced the requirement to an ordinance adopted in 1981 (pre-1989 code) and said a recodification cleanup is being prepared to align the charter, municipal code and historical practice. Frank said, “we are trying to recodify that so the charter agrees with the code and the code agrees with the Charter.” Staff said the proposed cleanup is not a property tax increase and that no change in revenue is expected.

Because the meeting lacked a quorum, the items were presented to the budget committee but not formally voted. The committee adjourned after the record was made.

Ending: The committee received staff’s revenue and expense updates, finalized plans to import the 2025 state property tax file into Tyler Munis and recorded proposed budget amendments and grant recognitions for later formal consideration by the council or budget committee when a quorum is present.