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City reports near-term FY25 revenues tracking close to budget; council asks for delinquency and contracts reports
Summary
City budget staff told the City Council that second-quarter FY25 general fund revenues are closely tracking the budget but flagged higher personal property tax delinquencies and some expenditure pressures; councilmembers requested delinquency and contract-spend reports and the council voted to recess and enter a closed session.
Lisa Cipriano, director of Budget and Evaluation, told the City Council on Feb. 25 that the FY 2025 general fund is tracking near the adopted budget but that several revenue and expenditure items warrant monitoring.
Cipriano said the general fund for FY25 is budgeted at about $624.2 million and that the second-quarter report (through Dec. 31, 2024) shows actual receipts close to those expectations. She said personal property tax delinquencies are tracking about $2.7 million higher than anticipated, machinery-and-tools receipts are lagging, and real-estate collections are slightly delayed. At the same time, Cipriano said sales and meals taxes were stronger than budgeted. “We are right at what we projected for revenues for the fiscal year,” she said, adding that the city currently projects slightly more than $5 million in combined expenditure savings through tighter spending controls.
Council members asked for additional information to inform budget decisions. Councilman Long asked whether prior surpluses appeared at the same point in prior years; Cipriano said prior budgets had higher revenue estimates and that her current budget had been conservatively constructed. Council members, including Long and another member, requested a delinquency report (summary of outstanding unpaid taxes) and a report on the city’s use and value of contracts and consulting services over recent years to help assess whether increased contracting is offset by vacancy savings. City Manager Alan Archer said both reports are in preparation and will be provided to the council.
Council members also discussed using a website and data to inform the public and to support outreach in other agenda items.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to recess for five minutes (procedural): carried 7–0. (Roll call as recorded: Councilman Harris — yes; Mayor Philip Jones — yes; Councilman Cleon Long — yes; Councilwoman Vick — yes; Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany — yes; Councilman Rob Coleman — yes; Councilman Ealy — yes.)
- Motion to go into closed session under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3711(A)) for: (1) performance of council appointees; (3) disposition of publicly held real property in the southern section; (3) disposition of publicly held real property in the central section; and (5) prospective business expansion in the central section — carried 7–0. (Roll call as recorded: Harris, Jones, Long, Vick, Bethany, Coleman, Ealy — all yes.)
- Motion to certify the closed meeting and adjourn — carried 7–0.
Council members and staff also offered operational updates unrelated to the forecast, including committee formation for finance and public safety and praise for public-works snow response. Several council members thanked staff and outside partners for emergency response work and asked that future budget discussions consider the scope of contract spending and collection efforts for delinquent taxes.
