Interim finance director: DeSoto near fiscal-year close with healthy fund balances; CDBG and golf course items flagged

The DeSoto City Council received an August 2025 financial update on Sept. 15 showing most funds near budgeted targets as the fiscal year ends.

Interim Finance Director Lakita Sutton told the council that, as of Aug. 31, the city was about 92% into the fiscal year and had collected $60.6 million of $64.3 million in budgeted general-fund revenue — roughly 94.3% of budget. “Weare doing really great with our revenue,” Sutton said, and noted property tax and sales tax are the largest revenue sources. She also reported interest revenue exceeded the budgeted $900,000, with receipts just over $1 million, and ambulance service charges were at 135.6% of budget.

Sutton said general-fund expenses were $55.1 million of $65.8 million budgeted (about 83.8% spent) and the city is carrying reserves: “We do have a healthy $32,000,000 in our general fund,” she said during Q&A. Council member Crystal Chisholm summarized surpluses cited in the presentation: a roughly $5.5 million surplus in the general fund, $1.3 million in the utility fund and $1.6 million in sanitation.

Council members asked for follow-up detail on several items. Both Council member Perrette Parker and Mayor Pro Tem Crystal Chisholm asked about Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds; Sutton said CDBG expenditures can lag because of project timing and vendor billing recorded when invoices hit the city’s general ledger. Sutton offered to provide a breakdown of projects and why the reported percentage (about 57% in the presentation) appeared low at one month out from the budget adoption.

Economic incentive spending exceeded budget slightly. Sutton said the economic-incentives line showed 104% because payments to two companies were made during the year; she cited Kohler and Smoothie King and said the final scheduled Kohler payment should have been $40,000 under the contract rather than the $30,000 the city initially budgeted.

Council members also pressed for more detail on the golf course finances. Sutton said the capital projects report shows $4.9 million spent year to date on capital projects, and more than $2.5 million of that is for the golf course acquisition and work. She said staff is still onboarding the golf-course accounting and that a dedicated golf-course enterprise fund will appear in the Fiscal Year 2026 proposed budget; the city expects to present historical July and August operating information to council once it is compiled.

Sutton closed the presentation noting other funds: the public-utility fund had budgeted $30.4 million and year-to-date receipts of $28.9 million (95% of budget); the sanitation fund was at 94.9% of budgeted revenue. She also reported HUB participation at 17.1% (goal 20%), a substantial improvement over 4.9% the prior year, attributing gains largely to work at the city’s Aquatics and Recreation Center.

Council directed staff to return details on CDBG timing and a fuller accounting for the golf course so the council can assess the proposed FY2026 budget with complete data.