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City finance director outlines $200M revenue forecast and warns of 2026 airport risk
Summary
Finance Director Pete Strecker projected about $200 million in 2025 revenue (roughly 50/50 taxes and fees), said revenues are tracking better than expected in 2024, but signaled modeling of a 15% tax-base reduction in 2026 tied to potential airport disruption; he also reviewed a $292M projected ending fund balance and noted many funds are encumbered for capital.
Pete Strecker presented the city’s revenue outlook and fund-reserve position. He said the 2025 revenue forecast is roughly $200,000,000 with about half coming from taxes and half from fees or services. He added the city is tracking better than July forecasts for 2024 but has included a conservative 15% reduction to the tax base in 2026 as a placeholder largely tied to the potential airport closure timeline and the unknown impacts on taxable activity.
Pete also walked council through a projected $292,000,000 ending fund balance and where reserves reside, including designations for the lumberyard, Wheeler, and housing-related reserves. He cautioned that much of the apparent fund growth reflects encumbered or earmarked dollars and is not fully discretionary, noting the general-purpose property tax and the city’s share of the county sales tax are the primary flexible resources. Council members requested clearer encumbrance and reserve reporting to better evaluate available funding options.
