Mount Pleasant reports $234,769 year-to-date general-fund excess for fiscal year ended Sept. 30

At the Oct. 21 council meeting, Finance Director Jillian Gatewood presented the city's monthly financial report for the period ending Sept. 30, 2025. She told the council the general fund's bottom line measured 95.7% of expected revenues and reported a year-to-date excess of $234,769 before year-end audit entries.

Gatewood flagged several line items for context: property-tax receipts were slightly above budget, sales tax for September was lower than last year but roughly where staff had expected, and an unusually high prior-year figure (113%) reflected COVID-related federal allocations that skew comparisons. She noted a negative figure in human-resources allocations resulted from internal payroll reclassification, not an actual overspend. Utility-fund revenues were reported at 104.3% with an anticipated transfer to fund balance to reach industry targets.

During public and council questions, staff clarified the liquor-sales line is not a separate retail-bottle tax: mixed-beverage tax is charged when alcohol is sold as a mixed drink in a restaurant; bottle sales (liquor, beer and wine bought at stores) are captured in sales tax. A member of the public asked whether the city could provide a separate breakout for package-store liquor sales; staff said the data is bundled in sales-tax receipts and they will check whether a separate breakdown is available.

Gatewood said the $234,769 figure is preliminary and may be adjusted by routine year-end entries and audit adjustments. Council members asked about potential impacts to the surplus; Gatewood said she had not completed all adjustment calculations and could not predict any significant changes at that time.

The council accepted the quarterly investment report later in the meeting.