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Joplin City finance staff reports small 2024 surplus but warns revenue may not keep pace with costs
Summary
City finance staff told the council that February sales-tax receipts (covering December activity) rose 1.43% year-over-year, use tax is down year-to-date, and preliminary 2024 figures show a modest net operating gain; staff cautioned that projections show revenues may not keep pace with expenditures.
City finance staff presented a summary of recent revenue and expenditure figures and said preliminary 2024 totals show a modest operating gain.
Leslie Haas, identified in the meeting as a finance staff member, said February sales-tax receipts (which reflect December purchases) were up 1.43% compared with the prior year and that use-tax collections were down about 2.8% year-to-date. "You can see our total operating revenue, almost 36,000,000," Haas said, and listed total operating expenditures just over $35,000,000, producing a net operating gain in 2024.
Haas noted the 2024 totals include one-time items and that the city is still completing an audit. She also pointed out that timing issues — including about $3.8 million in open purchase orders at fiscal year-end — affect the unrestricted fund balance calculation.
On current-year results, Haas said year-to-date operating revenue and expenditures are slightly under budget and that one-time items affect the short-term picture. She concluded by telling the council that projections indicate the city's operating revenue is unlikely to keep pace with operating expenditures in coming months and offered to return with another update at the next meeting.
The mayor asked whether the council had questions; none were raised during the meeting.
