Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Peoria finance director outlines year-end results, seeks flexibility to delay bond sale until market improves
Summary
Finance Director Kyle Cratty presented the unaudited month-ended Dec. 31, 2025 report and a resolution to allow the city to reimburse capital expenditures from future bond proceeds; he said the city may delay issuance until late summer/early fall, is rated A2 with a positive outlook, and now expects to add about $1M to general-fund balance for 2025.
Finance Director Kyle Cratty told the Peoria City Council Feb. 24 that the city’s unaudited results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025 show stronger-than-anticipated revenues and lower-than-expected expenses, shifting the city from a planned use of fund balance to a projected addition of roughly $1 million.
Cratty said the city had budgeted about $129 million in general-fund revenue but is tracking nearer $132 million, driven by stronger home-rule and state sales-tax collections and taxes on leased equipment. On the expense side, projected spending is about $131.1 million against a budgeted $133 million. Those changes produce an approximately $4.5 million positive swing versus the budget assumptions, Cratty said; he cautioned the figures are unaudited and the final audit is expected in late June or early July.
On a related item (agenda 26-55), staff presented a resolution expressing the city’s official intent to reimburse certain capital expenditures from future bond proceeds. Cratty said the approach allows staff to delay a bond sale until market conditions improve (he estimated late summer or early fall) while preserving the ability to reimburse already-commenced capital projects back to Jan. 1 once bonds are issued. He reported the city’s credit rating as A2 with a positive outlook and said long-term pension liabilities are the main impediment to a higher rating.
Council members probed the prudence of delaying issuance versus locking in rates; members expressed support for careful timing. The council voted to approve the resolution unanimously. Council members also heard brief updates about Civic Center grant-funded improvements and an ice plant project with construction starting in March and May respectively.
Ending: The council approved the reimbursement-resolution framework and received the unaudited financial report; staff will return with finalized audit numbers and put bond paperwork on staff’s timeline for later in the year when market conditions are more favorable.
