Finance committee receives quarterly report: hotel/motel and auto-rental collections near prior year; general fund shows revenue over expenditures

The Finance & Investment Committee received and filed the quarterly finance report, which showed hotel/motel and auto‑rental taxes generally in line with prior-year totals and a favorable year‑to‑date general fund position driven in part by timing and capital purchase differences.

Tax collections: Staff reported March hotel/motel collections are slightly below 2023 levels but overall fiscal year-to-date hotel/motel receipts are roughly in line with last year (fiscal year‑to‑date at about $1,035,000 compared with $1,034,000 previously reported). Auto‑rental tax was also described as consistent with forecast and reserve draws were identified to smooth monthly variance in distributions.

General fund and expenditures: For the quarter, staff reported general fund revenues of about $1,616,000,000 for the reporting period and year‑to‑date revenues of roughly $66,700,000 (81% of adjusted budget). Year‑to‑date expenditures were reported at $60,100,000 (73% of budget), producing a year‑to‑date delta of approximately $6,000,000 in revenues over expenditures. Capital spending rose because of vehicle purchases rolled from the prior year; capital is approximately $2.197 million year to date, including replacement vehicles.

Insurance and reserves: Staff told the committee the city is self‑insured for some coverages and used reserves to balance the self‑insurance fund after a large rate increase last year. "We got hit with a 60% increase this past year on that," a staff member said, and staff cited using about $750,000 in reserves to cover the prior increase; rebidding for insurance coverage is planned over the summer.

Golf fund: The city’s golf fund was running slightly under break‑even and about $80,000 short year‑to‑date; the budget includes a $300,000 transfer from the golf fund to the general fund to support city operations and an expected additional $100,000 in the fourth quarter contingent on golf performance.

Committee outcome: On a motion to receive and file, the committee approved the quarterly reports by voice vote (3–0). Staff said they will continue to monitor business-license receipts, permits, discretionary revenue areas and insurance costs as the budget process continues.