Lee County finance staff report FY25 revenues modestly above budget and expenditures under by $9.4 million
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Summary
Finance staff told commissioners FY25 revenues exceeded the adopted budget by roughly $500,000, property-tax collections outperformed estimates by about $2.3 million, the county ended the year with increased available fund balance, and the debt-service-to-expenditure ratio was reported at about 14.79%, under the board policy threshold of 15%.
County finance staff presented a FY25 budget-to-actual review showing modest revenue gains and underspending across several categories.
Presenter Jen said the county realized roughly $500,000 more in revenues than the adopted FY25 budget and a 5% increase compared with FY24. Property-tax collections were cited as the largest positive variance, about $2.3 million above estimates; investment earnings produced an average return of about 4.24% and sales-tax receipts helped support the gain. Jen noted intergovernmental reimbursements were about $2.9 million below budget due to timing of reimbursable state funding.
On the expenditure side, the county came in about $9.4 million under budget overall, including capital-outlay savings (~$3 million), approximately $1.8 million under in operations, and an approximately $2.1 million salary savings line. Jen said there were no across-the-board service reductions to achieve those savings and attributed much of the underspend to one-time timing differences and prudent purchasing.
The county's outstanding debt was presented at $118,500,000. Finance staff reported the debt-service-to-expenditures ratio at about 14.79%, under the board's 15% policy benchmark used by the Local Government Commission and bond raters. Staff said that while the benchmark can be exceeded in planning for new debt, the county currently remains within policy limits and retains capacity for future capital projects.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about the reporting changes required by Governmental Accounting Standards Board guidance (GASB) and about the composition of different debt instruments (limited-obligation bonds, COPs, GO bonds). Staff said GASB changes added workload this year, including a new accrual for sick-leave liability, and offered to provide further detail at retreat sessions.
The presentation closed with staff summarizing that the county maintained fund balance above the board's minimum (32% policy threshold), that an unmodified audit opinion was issued, and that the county remained financially stable going into FY26.
