Ferguson Township posts stronger-than-expected 2025 revenue; board asks how long underspending can continue
Summary
Finance director Todd Grady told the board that general fund revenues for 2025 exceeded budgeted expectations and that expenses ran below projections in multiple categories; supervisors asked whether recurring underspending masks unmet needs and requested follow-up on options to achieve a structurally balanced budget.
Todd Grady, Ferguson Township’s director of finance, presented the township’s 2025 financial year review on Feb. 3, saying revenues exceeded budget while several expenditure categories came in under projections.
Grady summarized the general fund as having ended the year with stronger revenues: "we came in at a 106% over budget in revenues," he told supervisors, and noted a roughly $1.88 million positive cash-flow change year‑over‑year. He cited higher-than-expected permanent income tax receipts (about $8.7 million received versus $8.4 million budgeted) and a $200,000 grant reimbursement for a Park Hills drainageway project as contributors to the revenue surplus.
On the spending side, Grady reported notable under‑expenditures in wages and benefits (reflecting vacancies), interfund transfers and other categories. Some supervisors expressed concern that operating at roughly an 83% expenditure rate could signal deferred maintenance or unmet service needs rather than efficiency. "What happens at that same level of service, same whatever, what are the impacts if we keep at 83%?" Supervisor Patterson asked.
Grady and the manager responded that staff will return with more detailed scenarios showing what services are being delayed or deferred and where vacancies have reduced capacity. The board discussed moving toward a priority-based budget or program-based budgeting to identify essential services and where cuts or revenue options could be applied across a three- to four-year horizon.
Why it matters: The township’s fund balance and one-time transfers (including a $3.2 million TIF transfer noted in the presentation) improved short‑term liquidity, but supervisors stressed the need for a sustainable approach to avoid repeated structural deficits and to identify positions or services that cannot be deferred.
Next steps: Staff will present additional analysis in the coming quarter that shows which unfilled positions and postponed expenditures are causing underspending, and will propose options to move toward a structurally balanced budget over multiple years.
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