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Committee places FY25 Q1 financial review on file after wide-ranging departmental questions
Summary
The committee reviewed FY25 Q1 financials, focusing on blanket purchase orders, postage and lockbox costs, police overtime reimbursed by the Gaming Commission, decreased towing revenue, building-permit timing and water/sewer rate increases; the committee moved the report to file.
The Everett City committee reviewed the administration’s FY25 first-quarter financial report and voted to place the materials on file after questions across multiple departments about encumbrances, revenues and operational line items.
Councilor Smith introduced the resolution requesting the quarterly review. Finance staff explained many departments are increasingly using blanket purchase orders to encumber annual spending (for example, WB Mason orders for office supplies), which shifts a sizable portion of expected expenditures into Q1 encumbrances and reduces monthly transaction processing. Staff said the approach reduces processing and errors but makes quarter-to-quarter comparisons appear uneven.
Committee members asked department-specific questions. Staff said postage rose due to heavy mail volume tied to the recent national election and that blanket postage POs were used to manage the cost. Police overtime increases were discussed: the Mass Gaming Commission reimburses costs for officers assigned to the casino gaming unit based on quarterly billing, while regular-duty police responses elsewhere are not charged to the commission. Health & Human Services showed overtime increases (noted as roughly 400% in one line); staff attributed the change to negotiated union provisions and increased use of contracted services, but said open positions provided budget flexibility and no supplemental request was immediately expected.
Revenue items drew questions: towing revenue dropped after the city ceased towing, and the administration said towing is not currently on the mayor’s agenda but could be revisited in spring; license and building-permit revenue can fluctuate because of timing and large development projects, and school Medicaid reimbursement variances appeared to be timing issues under review. Staff also discussed enterprise-fund transfers (indirect cost allocations such as health insurance) and said timing differences explain some fiscal-year variability.
On reserves, staff said the city’s free cash remains within prudent ranges (generally considered 3–10%) despite recent draws and recommended continued use of free cash and stabilization funds to manage volatility. The Water and Sewer Commission recently increased rates by about 5% to keep pace with MWRA assessments, which staff said are expected to continue driving incremental rate adjustments.
After the review and questions across departments, a motion was made and seconded to place the FY25 Q1 financials on file; the committee approved the motion and adjourned the meeting.
