DeSoto financial report: general fund tracking near expectations; HUB spending and school resource reimbursements draw council questions

At the April 14 special meeting, Assistant Finance Director Lakita Sutton presented the city’s March 2025 monthly financial report and answered council questions about several revenue and expense lines, the HUB‑spend goal and reimbursements that offset departmental overtime.

Sutton said the general fund budget for fiscal 2025 is $64,294,000 and reported year‑to‑date general fund revenue of $46,934,268, or roughly 73% of budget at the March reporting date. She said general fund expenditures were at about 42.6% of the budget ($27,229,000 spent year‑to‑date), roughly in line with expectations for midway through the fiscal year. “So we’re right on track with where we expect to be,” she said.

Sutton reviewed key enterprise‑fund figures: meter/water sales and sewer revenues together produced about $14,218,000 year‑to‑date; sanitation revenue year‑to‑date was about $3,500,000 against a $7,300,000 budget. She said overall property‑tax collections were at roughly 96% for the season, which she called normal for the period.

Council members pressed staff on the city’s HUB (Historically Underutilized Businesses) reporting. Sutton showed a hub report indicating a March month figure of 17.2% and year‑to‑date HUB spending details; she and councilmembers discussed whether the city should create a more visible HUB page on the city website and whether additional outreach or a target adjustment is appropriate. Council members said the city’s 20% HUB goal is under active review and that a work session will consider whether the target is realistic for DeSoto’s project mix.

Council members also asked about police overtime and reimbursements for school resource officers (SROs). Sutton said the general fund intergovernmental revenues include $249,000 received year‑to‑date from SRO reimbursements, and the city manager noted reimbursements previously reported of $249,000 had reduced net overtime exposure. Staff said they would add a clearer breakdown to future financial packets or slides to make those reimbursements easier for council and the public to find.

Councilmembers asked for additional information on sales‑tax trends and a breakdown of investment balances by fund after noticing a decline in interest revenue tied to recent Federal Reserve rate reductions; staff agreed to prepare a fund‑level investment summary for council.

Ending: The council requested clearer, more prominent online presentation of HUB and intergovernmental reimbursement figures and asked staff to return with additional fund‑level investment and revenue trend detail; no budget amendments were adopted at the meeting.