Goodland staff presents 2025 draft budget, flags $182,000 general-fund shortfall

City staff presented a draft 2025 budget that currently leaves about a $182,000 shortfall in the general fund and asked the Goodland City Commission for direction on where to cut or raise revenue. The presentation emphasized that the draft is a work in progress and not a final recommendation.

Kent, the staff member who presented the budget, said staff is aiming for a balanced budget but warned the city has been drawing down cash reserves for several years and must make choices to avoid depleting emergency balances. “This is just the start of our conversation,” Kent said, adding that staff will return with a suggested list of cuts and asked the commission for priorities.

Staff outlined the city’s primary revenue sources: property taxes (about 27% of the general fund), sales taxes (about 30%, with much of that passing through to the school district), and transfers from utility user fees (about 21%). The draft assumes use of roughly 7% of cash balances to close the gap under the current proposal, a level staff described as unsustainable over the long term. The presentation included technical details: a revenue-neutral mill rate was listed at 49.374, and moving to the R&R rate of 50.153 would require an additional roughly $33,000 beyond the identified $182,000 gap.

Department-level options to reduce expenditures were discussed. Staff identified administration, police and street and alley capital as areas that could yield significant savings but noted those are also among the larger operational needs. Examples included reducing capital outlay for police vehicle replacements (from a previously requested $45,000 down to $15,000 in the draft) and trimming matching transfers to reserve funds used to leverage grants. Staff also noted specific cost pressures, including rising insurance premiums and higher concrete and vehicle-part prices.

Staff flagged several timing and process constraints. The county clerk requires notice if the city intends to hold a revenue-and-rate (R&R) hearing by July, and staff said the commission has two to three meetings to refine the proposal and set a direction. Kent said staff will return with a prioritized list of potential cuts and requested any commissioner recommendations before the next meeting.

The presentation included summaries of smaller enterprise and restricted funds — airport, employee benefits, bond and interest, library — some of which showed low or negative cash balances in the draft. Staff noted a pending update from KMEA on utility-rate studies that could affect future utility fee recommendations and said staff is still investigating franchise-fee options.

Next steps: staff will prepare specific cut options and, if commissioners wish, materials to support an R&R hearing. Commissioners were asked to review the notebooks provided and bring questions or suggestions to the next meeting.