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Trenton finance director presents Fiscal Year 2027 tax budget; flags income-tax timing issue
Summary
Finance Director Matthew Mesisklis presented the City’s Fiscal Year 2027 tax budget for submission to the Butler County Budget Commission, reporting $25.83 million in projected revenues and a procedural budget that anticipates a $500,000 General Fund surplus while noting a roughly 19% year‑to‑date income‑tax shortfall tied to statewide collection timing changes.
Finance Director Matthew Mesisklis told the City Council at its June 18 work session that the administration is submitting a procedural Fiscal Year 2027 tax budget to the Butler County Budget Commission that projects $25,831,187 in total revenues and $26,433,786 in expenses.
Mesisklis said the tax budget does not authorize 2027 spending but provides the county with the City’s first‑look revenue and resource forecast; the county then issues a certificate of resources that sets the City’s spending limit for the operating budget process. He said current projections show a roughly $500,000 General Fund surplus driven in part by expected recapture of income‑tax receipts and by interest earnings being allocated back into the General Fund.
On the city’s May snapshot, Mesisklis said income‑tax receipts are about 19% behind year‑to‑date compared with last year. He attributed the shortfall to a change in state practice under RITA: because of adjustments in the Ohio Revised Code, RITA cannot follow up on non‑filers until after the federal extension deadline of Oct. 15, meaning enforcement and collection activity that previously occurred earlier in the year is delayed. "Withholding remains stable," Mesisklis said, "but RITA is not able to follow up on non‑filers until after the extension due date in October." He added the city expects to see improvement after RITA obtains federal taxable‑income data and pursues cases within the statute of limitations.
Mesisklis also walked Council through assumptions embedded in the tax budget: no residential water or sewer rate increases for 2027, a 3.6% increase for larger water users, a 4% increase in garbage service based on expected Rumpke cost pressures, and a 1% street‑light increase. He said the General Fund police subsidy is projected to rise by about $360,000 in 2027 because of bargaining outcomes, and the General Fund will contribute an estimated $600,000 to maintain fire operations (up from recent annual contributions of roughly $300,000). Mesisklis said the tax budget includes only limited capital spending in 2027, noting about $400,000 for water‑meter replacements and that most major projects were included in 2025–26 budgets.
Mayor Perry asked for additional context on a developer payroll pledge tied to a separate agenda item; Mesisklis clarified that the cited $5 million represented the annual payroll the developer was willing to pledge, not a guaranteed income‑tax figure, and said actual payrolls for comparable data‑center developments have been significantly higher. Mesisklis said he will provide Council sample payroll expectations at a future meeting.
The motion to adopt the tax budget was presented for Council consideration and is procedural; the budget must be submitted to the Butler County Budget Commission for review. The work session record does not show a final Council vote adopting the tax budget on June 18.
