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Mableton Q3 finance report: revenues lag projections; expenses kept well under budget
Summary
City manager and finance director told the council the city is running below projected revenue largely because an insurance premium tax will not be collectible until fall, while restrained hiring and delayed leases kept expenditures significantly under budget and left the city with a healthy cash position.
City Manager Michael Hughes and Finance Director Karen Ellis delivered the city’s FY 2025 third-quarter financial report on April 23, telling the Mableton City Council that revenues are running below projections but expenditures have remained well controlled.
Hughes said the city had budgeted nearly $14 million in revenue for the fiscal year but projects collections of about $10 million by year end — roughly 29–30 percent below the budgeted total. He tied most of that gap to an anticipated insurance premium tax (approximately $4.3 million in the feasibility study) that the city will not be eligible to collect until the fall. Council and staff said that shortfall will self-correct next fiscal year once the tax becomes collectible.
At the same time, the manager said the council’s conservative hiring strategy and delayed expenditures kept outlays well below budget: departments were averaging roughly 57 percent of budget spent at the nine‑month mark where 75 percent would be expected. Facilities and lease timing accounted for much of the underspend, Hughes said, and the city is averaging roughly $800,000 per month in revenue versus about $400,000 per month in expenditures.
Hughes highlighted cash and fund-balance figures: the city’s general-fund cash and cash equivalents are just under $8.0 million (about $7.9 million), the hotel‑motel fund has roughly $600,000 in a separate account, and the fund balance stood near $3.9 million. He said administration projects a $5 million surplus at year end under current trends but stressed the council should maintain reserves of two to six months of operating expenditures.
Council members asked about revenues that were above projections, notably occupational/business taxes, which Hughes and the city attorney said reflect both new businesses and collection of previously delinquent accounts the county had not provided in earlier business lists. Hughes said staff will pursue compliance checks to increase future occupational-tax collections and that code enforcement will assist in identifying unlicensed businesses. The report was informational; council did not take a final vote on budget changes at the meeting.
