City finance staff reported the third-quarter financial dashboard and commissioners discussed tourism funding and collection challenges.

Theresa presented the report: sales tax outperformed the annual budget by about 1.8%, overall general-fund revenues were about 97.38% of budgeted totals, and general-fund expenditures ran about 94.44% of the budget, leaving an estimated $212,000 surplus to add to the fund balance pending completion of the year-end audit. She noted large capital projects shifted some enterprise fund spending into a future year — the water meter project (~$600,000) will be completed in the next budget cycle and an amendment will follow.

Courtney Hale, presenting for the Chamber's tourism committee, said tourism (hotel-motel tax) revenue had been challenging for many jurisdictions but the chamber's tourism program operated on roughly $44,224 and is shifting resources away from multi-year event subsidies toward longer-term investments such as a mural program and a new visitpampa website. Hale said the prior website had been controlled by the Woody Guthrie Museum and had been hacked; the chamber plans an interactive site, maps and scavenger-tour features to increase visitor stay and spending. Commissioners pressed staff on whether short-term rentals (Airbnb) were registered and paying hotel-motel taxes. City staff said there is not currently a registration for short-term rental operators and that obtaining tax-reporting data from the state comptroller can be difficult because some returns are confidential; staff and commissioners discussed potential registry or permitting steps to improve collection.

Theresa said final audited numbers will be presented in March. Commissioners did not change policy at the meeting but directed staff to explore options for registration and enforcement to capture unreported hotel-motel tax revenue.