The Budget & Finance Committee of the Everett City Council met on May 21, 2025, to review year-to-date budget performance through March, discuss budget priorities for 2026, and examine a 10-year history of general government full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing. The meeting was chaired by Council President Schwab, with Finance Director Heidi Berlantez and Assistant Finance Director Jamie Lee Graves presenting.
Year-to-Date Budget Performance (March Financial Report)
Budget Priorities Discussion
General Government Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) 10-Year History (2015–2025)
Well, welcome everyone to the City of Everett budget and finance committee for May 21st, 2025. On our agenda is three items, main items. Year to date budget performance, including the March financial report, budget priorities discussion, and the general government full-time employee um data history. So it's welcome for those of you who may be watching online. We'll begin with our report. Um who would like to start? Mayor, did you at this point need to start today? Are you just here? Be part of this. I appreciate you being here really much so. Okay. Heidi, take it away. Thank you. Uh good evening, Mayor and City Council. Uh Heidi Berlantez Finance Director. And joining me today is Jamie Lee Graves, our assistant finance director. This evening, as President Schwab stated, uh, we will start with an overview of our year-to-date budget performance as of March 31st. Following that, uh, we will pause for council discussion before moving to our next topic, the city's budget priorities. Finally, we'll conclude with a summary of the general government full-time equivalents or FTE trends over the past decade from 2015 to 2025. Uh so I'll now pass it to Jamie Lee and she'll begin the presentation with year-to-date budget performance. Hello, mayor and city council. Uh, we start the year-to-date budget performance review with general government revenues. Through March, general government revenues exceeded projections by approximately 1.2 million dollars, with total revenues for the month just over $580,000. This increase is largely due to the timing of operating transfers in and business and occupation or BNO tax revenues. BO tax receipts through March reflect an increase of $522,627 or $11.5% over budget. As mentioned in the past, we receive our largest BNO payments on a quarterly basis in January, April, July, and October. And currently 49,194 above the forecast. Sales tax receipts are received on a two-month leg. So March collections represent economic activity from January. It takes a closer look at the six largest sales tax categories, showing not only the percentage each category contributes, but also how each is performing relative to the budget. At the end of March, wholesale trade and information came in above budget, while retail, construction, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing fell short. We've seen that construction activity is currently trending below forecast. One contributing factor is the seasonality of the industry. Construction is uh construction typically slows down during the winter months. And because sales tax receipts are reported on a two-month leg, what we're seeing now reflects activity from January when weather conditions are um when weather conditions can significantly limit project starts and progress. We'll continue to monitor this closely as we move further into the construction season and as data begins to reflect spring and summer activity. Uh moving on to general government expenditures. Expenditures through March are approximately $4.1 million below budget. As mentioned in previous presentations, expenses can fluctuate due to timing of certain expenditures, such as construction projects or street maintenance work. As highlighted in our previous presentation, departments have consistently shown strong fiscal responsibility, maintaining expenditures below budgeted levels. We placed a clear focus on sound financial stewardship, and we commend the proactive steps our team have taken to manage resources. Overall, we ended the first quarter on a strong note. As we move forward, we'll continue to closely monitor both revenues and expenditures, keeping in mind that trends can fluctuate throughout the year. Before moving on to the next topic, are there any questions on the year-to-date budget review? Councilmember Bader. Thanks, Council President. Again, maybe pre premature here yet, but uh we do we see any impacts of last fall's Boeing strike working their way through. I mean, as the uh 17,000 drop in uh manufacturing, uh like one airplane that didn't get delivered or something. I don't know. Just kind of curious where we are with the with knowing that impact.