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Heath EDC reports sales-tax growth, approves budget amendments including funded EDC director line
Summary
EDC staff presented unaudited December finances showing year-to-year sales tax growth; the board approved a budget amendment funding maintenance, a dog-recreation line and a $150,000-funded EDC director line, and agreed to return with separate demo cost figures for two Lawrence Drive properties.
At the Jan. 20 Heath EDC/NBC meeting Mr. Ayers presented the unaudited December 2025 financial report and recommended a budget amendment covering several near-term needs. Ayers reported that "at this point in the fiscal year, we've collected $231,961 in comparison to last year at $198,322," describing roughly a 12–15% increase in sales tax receipts compared with the prior fiscal year. He also stated interest earnings of $14,392 for the EDC and $13,917 for the HMBC and described fund balances around $1.6 million.
Board members asked for deeper breakdowns of sales tax by category; Ayers said that category-level detail requires Avenue Insights and that receipts are reported on a two-month lag, so December receipts appear in later remittances. Several members asked about durability of the trend and timing; Ayers cautioned the board about seasonality and the lag for holiday receipts.
The board then considered a budget amendment that included $50,000 for a maintenance-worker position (split between EDC and NBC), $25,000 tied to the dog recreation zone, $16,000 for increased legal expenses (split between the corporations), $50,000 for beautification of the reserve, payoff of a $600,000-ish note associated with 217 Lawrence, and a $150,000 budgeted line to begin posting an EDC director position (pro rata for the fiscal year). Board members discussed whether to include demolition costs for the Lawrence Drive houses in this amendment and agreed to handle demo quotes in a separate amendment; staff were directed to gather competitive quotes and return with numbers.
Mr. Lane moved to approve the amendment and Glenn seconded. The motion carried by voice vote. The amendment will be forwarded to the city council for final approval.
