City manager reports FY2025 revenue gains; permits and Measure E collections rose, bed tax dipped slightly

City Manager Alex Henderson presented the Kingsburg City Council with a fiscal year 2025 year‑end revenue update on Sept. 17, saying the city received most of its sales tax and other receipts after the fiscal year closed and that overall major funds came in slightly higher than budgeted.

Henderson said Kingsburg’s combined Bradley‑Burns sales tax collections were up about 3% from the previous year and that Measure E, the 1% public-safety sales tax approved by voters in 2018, brought in additional use‑tax revenue that made Measure E collections roughly $1 million higher than the Bradley‑Burns portion. “We’ve continued to see sort of steady growth,” Henderson said. He told the council the most recent quarter saw stronger receipts and that some fuel sales and online‑sales allocations continue to influence totals.

Henderson told the council the city collects an 8.975% sales tax rate on eligible purchases in Kingsburg, with the Bradley‑Burns portion and Measure E among components; he noted some online sales are pooled at the county level and returned to cities in a diluted form. He also reviewed property tax treatment in California and said vehicle license fees (a portion of which are distributed to cities) remain a local revenue source.

On narrower revenue lines, Henderson said building permits and other licenses and fees increased about 44% year over year, attributing the gain largely to timing and valuation: new single‑family starts, commercial development activity in the business park, engineering and plan‑check fees, and homeowner improvement projects such as HVAC and solar installations. He said the city’s hotel bed tax (transient occupancy tax, or TOT) fell about $15,000 from the prior year, a change he described as the result of a lower quarter for a local motel operator.

Henderson also noted longer‑term uncertainties: fuel sales remain an important component of local sales‑tax receipts, and a statewide shift to electric vehicles could require changes to formulas that fund road repairs and affect city revenue if fuel‑based collections decline. He referenced broader economic signals, including a recent 25‑basis‑point interest‑rate cut, and said analysts are watching labor markets and inflation for their possible effects on consumer spending.

Council members asked questions during the presentation: one asked whether the 44% increase in permits and fees was expected; Henderson said the figure is timing‑sensitive and that averaging collections over five years would provide a clearer trend. Another council member asked how many short‑term rentals (Airbnbs) are active in the city; Henderson said active listings were “either four or five” and added that the city restricts short‑term rentals outside the downtown core to locations at least a half‑mile apart.

Henderson said the city obtains a fuller, confidential sales‑tax report from a third‑party vendor; state law prevents the public release of specific remitter amounts, so the city provides a nonconfidential version that names top remitters but omits individual dollar amounts.

The presentation was informational; no council action was requested or taken.