Finance Committee reviews how the city tracks and forecasts revenues

The Finance Committee heard an overview of Portland's revenue collection, forecasting and reporting process Monday and discussed options to provide more timely information to council and the public.

Jonas Berry, the city's chief financial officer, said the presentation grew out of council questions during the prior budget cycle about clearer revenue reporting. Berry described the city's three broad revenue buckets — taxes, service charges and fees (including utility rates), and grants — and said most revenues are restricted by law or policy to specific purposes.

Peter Holzman, the city economist, described the city's existing reporting products: a budget-level spreadsheet that lists budget lines and year-end actuals, a five-year revenue snapshot, and an upcoming manually updated monthly tracker for major taxes. He noted that grants are reported on a reimbursement basis and therefore show as revenue only when the city has spent funds eligible for reimbursement; that means grant "allocations" or awards can differ from the revenue the city recognizes in a given fiscal year.

Berry and Holzman walked the committee through the city's forecast and budget calendar: staff produce a December forecast that sets the base budget, with an updated forecast in April ahead of the mayor's proposed budget. Committee members asked whether the city could move its budget schedule earlier in the year. Staff said earlier decision points are feasible but trade off against forecast accuracy because key revenue information (for example, business license taxes, many of which are paid in April) becomes available later in the cycle.

Members discussed how ending fund balance from the prior year is recognized and appropriated in the fall (the "fall bump" or technical adjustment) and how that process has sometimes been seen as a second opportunity to allocate one-time funds. Staff noted that post-COVID-era one-time receipts changed recent expectations and that clearer written policy and consistent practice are important to avoid confusion.

Committee discussion touched on forecasting cadence, the tradeoffs of moving budget deadlines earlier, property tax compression priorities (local option levies compress before bonds), and whether the council should receive more regular grant-related briefings at the application stage. Staff said they would return with recommendations about what revenue reporting products are most useful to council and that a monthly tax-receipts tracker will be available soon.