Through the first quarter of the year, city officials say they are financially on target for 2024.
“Everything is coming in as expected,” Marysville Finance Director Brad Lutz said at a recent Finance Committee meeting.
Lutz told committee members, “Most of the revenue is on track. Hopefully that ramps up.”
Lutz said it is too early to have a number for income tax receipts yet, but said there are some good signs.
Officials said a line of taxpayers and those with questions or needing help formed outside City Hall on Tax Day before the building opened and continued out the door all day. Lutz said city staff shut the door at 5 p.m. that day, but continued to help people with the last person fully processed after 7 p.m. Lutz said staff in the tax department said it was the busiest tax day they could remember.
“I am not sure if having the largest amount of people come through our window will result in a larger amount of money or not,” Lutz said. “It was crazy, even the week before.”
He said that while the numbers are not in, income tax collection appears to be “level with last year, maybe a little above, but only a little bit.”
As of April 1, the city had received $3,022, about 0.05%, more in property tax than through the same period in 2023.
“Hopefully the income tax does take an upward trend. We will see,” Lutz said
He said earnings on investments are “the one area where we are ahead.”
During the budget process, Lutz projected the city would earn $1 million on investments. Through the first three months, the city has earned about $339,000.
“I feel comfortable saying we are going to exceed that estimate on earnings on investments,” Lutz said, adding that he believes the investments will earn $1.2 million “at least.”
He said he “moved some things around in investments” and was able to take advantage of “new investment opportunities and higher interest rates compared to a year ago.”
He said there was a “noticeable incline” in earnings. The finance committee is recommending that $200,000 from the anticipated increased revenue be used to help pay for the city’s 2024 streets paving program.
Lutz said Monday that while the Federal Reserve has said it would like to possibly lower interest rates, there were indications that might not happen. Economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, but inflation accelerated suggesting that any rate cut wouldn’t happen before September at the earliest.
“There is no reason to believe our investment income will fall off any time before the end of the year,” Lutz said.
He said there is also more revenue coming into the sanitation fund due to a trash fee increase of $1 per month for standard customers and $3.25 per month for seniors, as well a $0.50 per month yard waste fee increase for all customers, beginning in February.
“We raised the rates significantly enough to pay the contracted rates we have and what little bit we do,” Lutz said.
The finance director said that with the earnings on income increase spoken for, additional supplemental appropriations or unbudgeted expenses will likely not be possible this year.
“Adding new staff at this point would be a difficult proposition without a new revenue source,” Lutz said.
He explained that the police department has added a couple positions but they are grant funded.
Lutz said a moratorium on hiring individuals would be “more of a burden on staff than council.”
Lutz told the finance committee that the 2024 budget is the “tightest” he has ever created.
“Overall, it is good news, but it is tight,” Lutz said.
He added, “there are a lot of cities that are envious of this position.”
Council and Committee member Zack Bordner said he appreciates that the budget is “lean, which forces us to be accountable for the way we are spending the people’s money.”
“I think that’s a good thing,” he said.