Cleburne City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to accept a sales-tax refund request from the Texas Comptroller and instructed staff to repay the city's share in a one-time payment. The city's exposure was described by staff as "not to exceed $1,400,000."

The payment stems from a March 2023 prepayment tied to a vendor for a project that was later canceled, finance staff told the council. Staff presented three repayment options: a one-time payment in full (which staff said would reduce the service fee by roughly $30,000), letting the comptroller recoup the amount in a single monthly draw, or spreading repayments evenly over 12 months. "Option 1 is a one-time payment in full. This does allow for a reduction of the service fee associated with that refund, which is approximately $30,000," said Craig (finance staff).

Councilmember Derek Weathers said he supported paying the refund all at once if it would not harm fund balances: "If that's not gonna hurt us going out of each of these funds to go all in, I'm okay to do it." The council voted unanimously to approve Option 1.

Staff told the council the refund is a reduction of revenue, not a city expenditure, and therefore does not require a budget amendment. At the staff presentation, the city provided a breakdown of the impact as presented: a general-fund share of approximately $748,580.89 and two economic-development fund shares (EDC Type A and EDC 4B) of $374,294.72 each; staff presented these figures during the discussion.

The council also noted recent strong year-over-year sales-tax returns and that, after the adjustment, staff expects the city to still show growth for the fiscal reporting period. The motion to approve the refund payment in full was made by Councilmember Derek Weathers and seconded by Councilmember Oliver Cosby; the motion carried unanimously.