Waco Finance Director: General fund on track; sales tax projections rising after one-time adjustment
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Summary
City finance staff told council the general fund is tracking to plan (revenues ~32% of budget) with an estimated year-end balance above reserve targets; sales tax projections rose after adjusting for a February audit correction, but staff flagged below-budget interest revenue and asked for continued monitoring of enterprise fund variances.
Colin Booth, Managing Director of Finance, presented the City of Waco’s fiscal year 2026 first‑quarter financial report (period Oct. 1–Dec. 31, 2025) to the City Council on Feb. 17.
Booth said year‑to‑date general fund revenues are at 32% of budget and that combined actual expenditures and encumbrances are at 31% of budget (about 29% when encumbrances are removed). He gave an estimated general fund ending balance of $58,795,000 and noted that figure exceeds the city’s reserve policy by roughly $1.54 million. "Year to date revenues are at 32% of budget," Booth said.
On major revenue sources, Booth asked the council to note that property tax collections were roughly 40.9% year‑to‑date against a budget of $89,723,000. For sales taxes, staff reported a FYTD projection of $63,884,000 compared with a $60,430,000 budget (about 5.7% higher), though February’s posted payment showed an 8.8% decline tied to a large audit adjustment; when that audit adjustment is removed, current collections were up 3.7%.
Booth flagged that interest revenue is below the budgeted figure and that the budget team will reproject interest and other forward‑looking estimates. He reviewed enterprise funds, noting water fund revenues at 24% of budget (about 6% below last year, driven in part by precipitation), wastewater at 26% of budget (about 10% ahead of last year), and solid waste and drainage funds with timing effects due to fee changes and encumbrances.
Council members asked for clearer quarterly presentations that reflect projected receipts rather than simple pro‑rata comparisons; the mayor requested the property tax and sales tax slides be reconciled to show expected inflows. Booth agreed to reproject and provide additional detail in future quarterly packets. No votes were taken during the work session.