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Ocean Shores finance committee: September snapshot, reserve target update proposed
Summary
Committee reviewed September financials (general fund ~42% of budgeted revenues; appropriations ~40%), confirmed a county tax-levy packet is in the agenda, and asked the council to amend a pending resolution to move the reserve-target language to 2.5 to match current practice.
Ocean Shores Finance Committee met Oct. 23 at the Ocean Shores Library to review September financial results and recommend clarifications to a pending reserves resolution ahead of a council meeting next week. Finance committee member (Speaker 1) said "the general fund has collected about 42% of our budgeted revenues" and that total appropriations are running at about "40%" of budget, figures he characterized as generally on track for a biennial budget.
Speaker 1 called attention to an item that will come before the council on Tuesday: a resolution and ordinance derived from county tax-levy materials included in the committee packet. "The documents that I included in this agenda are a real document that came in from the county," he said, and staff will complete the calculations and paperwork required to present a resolution and ordinance.
The committee discussed a pending reserves resolution that currently uses the word "will" and references a threshold; Speaker 1 asked the committee to review suggested redline changes that would set a 2.5 target for the general fund to match the council's verbal practice. Speaker 3 recommended making reserve targets clearly advisory (for example, by adding a bullet or asterisk noting they are recommended targets) to avoid implying a legal violation if balances temporarily fall below the target. Speaker 1 clarified that a resolution is a guideline, while an ordinance would carry enforceable requirements.
The committee also noted a recent collection: Speaker 1 reported the city recovered $67,942.15 from District 7 in overdue fees, and monthly payments are now on trend. Members agreed finance staff will finalize reconciliations and provide the council the committee's recommended language before the council meeting.
Next steps: staff will complete tax-levy calculations from the county packet, finalize any redlines to the reserves resolution for council consideration, and circulate reconciled fund reports.
