Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance director reports modest sales‑tax growth, FEMA recoveries and higher fund balance
Summary
Finance Director Jim Brown told the Finance Administrative Committee the town is roughly "just under 1%" ahead on sales tax through March, FEMA reimbursements and a bond premium have created roughly $3.8 million in upside versus budgeted projections, and short‑term‑rental revenues are below earlier forecasts due to permitting and delinquency issues.
Jim Brown, the town’s finance director, told the Finance Administrative Committee that combined sales‑tax receipts through March were "up here today, just under 1%." He said restaurants were roughly flat year‑to‑date, construction (driven by residential remodeling) remained strong, services were up about 10% in March and retail showed mixed performance.
Brown ran through FY2027 projection updates and said the town’s grants revenue picture was stronger than earlier forecasts. "We have upside," he said when describing FEMA and bond‑premium receipts; the packet showed roughly $9.2 million in grant revenue with $8.156 million already collected and a reported bond premium of about $4.9 million that boosted FY revenue. He said roughly $3.8 million of positive variance versus the adopted budget is being driven primarily by FEMA receipts and bond premium, while some revenue lines (EMS and short‑term rentals) are lower than expected.
On FEMA activity, Brown summarized obligations and payments tied to storms including Matthew, Irma and Dorian and said the town has received multiple payments and approved invoice extensions for July and October that would allow submission of additional invoices ("we just have approved $3,500,000 of invoices that will be submitted for that extension before the end of July"). He cautioned there are no guarantees but described the overall grant effort as successful to date.
Brown said short‑term‑rental (STR) revenue is tracking around $2.2 million compared with a $3.0 million budget projection. He also outlined a large permitting backlog tied to new application requirements (inspections, HOA letters and requiring permit numbers in ads). About 2,400 permit holders remain to be contacted for compliance and staff expects the permitting and review process to extend into September.
On the expense side and capital projects, Brown reported expenses are roughly 2% higher than a year ago, that beach renourishment and several CIP items are nearly complete, and that an updated fund‑balance projection now shows a roughly $2.6 million increase by year‑end versus a $1.3 million increase anticipated in the adopted budget.
The committee asked several questions about the STR delinquency rate and enforcement. Brown said the town has a $250 penalty for delinquency that has not yet driven compliance for about 33% of operators; staff described a phased approach (education and application processing followed by citations or administrative fines when necessary). Several members urged continuing outreach and a more robust enforcement posture if compliance does not improve.
The committee did not take formal action on the financial update; members thanked staff and asked for follow‑up memos on specific items (STR counts and the ATAX/accommodations revenue trends that will affect grant distribution formulas).
