AIRWAY HEIGHTS — The City Council met on June 10 to discuss several important topics, including a detailed financial report presented by Finance Director Stanley Schubert.
Schubert reported on the city's financial status for January through May 2024. He noted that the city's year-to-date revenue collection should be about 42% of the budgeted amount.
The budgeted revenue for 2024 is $14,303,137, with actual revenue collected from January to May totaling $2,878,246, or 37.4%. Tax revenues include $1,557,010 in property tax and $2,930,778 in sales and use tax. Some of the business and occupation (B&O) taxes, collected quarterly, and utility taxes, totaling $1,634,023, contribute to the overall revenue. The B&O utility tax should be approximately $500,000, but the actual collection so far is $70,666.
Schubert highlighted that while the budgeted revenue is $6.6 million, the actual revenue is around $2.8 million. He assured the council that his department meets with each city department monthly to address any revenue collection issues. He noted that some funds typically lag behind but did not express significant concerns.
On the expense side, the city budgeted $13.6 million for the year and has spent $6.38 million to date, which is slightly above the budgeted amount.
The report also covered specific funds, including the Street Fund, which had a budget of $504,720 and has collected $211,473 so far. Schubert mentioned that expenses related to maintenance and repair are higher than expected.
For the Water and Sewer Fund, the budgeted revenue is $7.819 million, with $2.716 million collected to date. Schubert indicated that a transfer would occur in June and that water revenue is expected to increase during the summer months. On the expense side, $2.644 million has been spent out of the $8 million budgeted, keeping it relatively close to the budgeted amount.
When asked if there were any concerns, Schubert replied that there were none at present but mentioned that a budget update would be forthcoming. “Nothing stands out as a concern, but some of these collections are crank funds that always lag a little bit behind,” he said.
This update would reflect adjustments needed due to cost increases, including the purchase of a new public works truck. He emphasized the need to itemize further and prepare a detailed request for the budget update.
City Manager Albert Tripp asked, “What is the level of service that we want to achieve?” noting that current assumptions are based on this desired level of service.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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