Finance Committee Meeting – June 5, 2026 (Note: Agenda/Minutes Indicate June 1, 2026)
Finance Committee Meeting – June 5, 2026 (Note: Agenda/Minutes Indicate June 1, 2026)
The Finance Committee of the City of Gahanna met to receive updates on the Our Gahanna Strategic Plan implementation and the FY 2026 first-quarter financial report. Chair Stephen A. Renner called the meeting to order at 8:13 p.m. on June 1, 2026, per the agenda and minutes; however, the user-provided date is June 5, 2026. All committee members were present. No consent calendar or public comments were included.
Discussion Items
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Our Gahanna Strategic Plan Update: Miranda Vollmer, Senior Director of Administrative Services, presented the first-quarter progress report. She described 2026 as an alignment year focused on establishing a foundation for implementation. Key accomplishments included: drafting implementation matrices, identifying champions for each goal, engaging Planning NEXT for integration into processes, beginning evaluation of project management software (led by Kelsey Bartholomew), identifying 76+ active projects supporting strategic objectives, and incorporating the mission statement ('Serving the Community with Pride and Purpose') into the new Civic Center and employee communications. Staff aligned Strategic Plan reporting with quarterly finance reports. Next steps include departmental workshops in June and a Council workshop on July 20, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. to identify priorities for the 2027 budget. Councilmember Bowers asked about preparatory work; Vollmer advised reviewing the plan starting with the vision. Vice President Jones requested the presentation slides, which Vollmer confirmed would be provided. Chair Renner emphasized preparation for the July workshop and the Capital Improvement Plan.
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FY 2026 Quarter 1 Financial Report: Joann Bury, Director of Finance, presented the report covering the General Fund, special revenue funds, Capital Improvement Fund, income tax trends, investment performance, and overall conditions.
- General Fund: Revenue reached 22% of budget, below expectations due to delayed property tax distributions (now expected in Q2) and policy changes among large employers (remote-to-office transitions) reducing income tax. Year-over-year revenue was down 8%, partly because the prior year included one-time items (COHCC dividend, real estate tax refund). Permit revenues increased 94% above the 25% target, indicating continued capital investment. Expenditures were 19% of budget (50% including encumbrances), up 5% year-over-year due to salary/benefit increases, facility maintenance staffing for the Civic Center, utility costs, and the COHCC assessment. The City used approximately $805,000 of fund balance, leaving an ending balance of $44 million ($14.8 million encumbered, $10 million emergency reserve, $19.1 million unreserved, equivalent to six months of operating expenses).
- Special Revenue Funds: Revenue trends mirrored the General Fund. Parks and Recreation charges for services increased 45% due to higher pool and camp memberships. Public Safety expenditures decreased 9% (accounting change for mental health liaison). Parks and Recreation expenditures increased 14% (seasonal staffing). Public Service faced turnover but had filled positions and resumed projects.
- Capital Projects: Expenditures were 24% of budget (96% including encumbrances). The decrease reflected wind-down of Civic Center construction. $9.3 million had been spent, $22 million encumbered.
- Income Tax: Withholding tax growth fell short of the budgeted 4% increase due to offsetting factors. Individual tax collections followed expected patterns. Net profit taxes normalized after an unusual prior year, with large refunds for 2024 and 2025. President Weaver asked about delinquent tax collections from RITA; Director Bury reported the campaign generated $700,000–$800,000, with some penalties waived for education/compliance. She offered to provide updated information on uncollected obligations. Councilmember Bowers clarified a facilities expenditure line item (actual vs. encumbered). Councilmember Schnetzer asked about potential budget adjustments; Director Bury stated no 2026 appropriation changes were anticipated, but a sustained downward trend would affect the five-year forecast.
- Investments: Investment income reached 27% of budget, meeting targets. Director Bury noted inflation pressure from Middle East instability and tariffs, with no near-term interest rate reductions. She also mentioned ongoing tax reform discussions at state and citizen levels.
Key Outcomes
- No votes or formal decisions were taken. The committee received the reports and discussed implications.
- Council directed staff to continue monitoring income tax and revenue trends for potential future budget adjustments.
- President Weaver requested additional information from RITA on remaining delinquent tax obligations, to be provided by email.
- Council was encouraged to prepare for the July 20 Strategic Plan workshop by reviewing the Strategic Plan and Capital Improvement Plan.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Call to order our finance committee. We do have two items. The Art Gahanna strategic plan update, and then we'll go into the first quarter 26 financial report. Good evening, Miranda. Good evening. So today I'm here with a brief update on the strategic plan. We advise we come when the finance reports come. So I'm here today to talk about the implementation in our quarter one updates. So we'll talk about the alignment year, what that means, the update, and then the next steps. So during the alignment year, we are working with planning next that was appropriated in the budget last year. So we're setting a strong foundation for the plan implementation. And I'll go over these in the next few slides. But we are working on tracking software. We've identified strategic plan champions and team roles, reporting timeline and structure, and then the integration with all of our different processes, forms, and templates. So the strategic plan reporting timeline, as I stated, we are trying to align the strategic plan with the quarterly finance reports. So these are the months that the finance reports typically come. The implementation plan calls for a retreat to be held in quarter one, if necessary, to review and update the plan. And then beginning in 2027, we anticipate doing annual reports on the strategic plan and other items as well. You may remember this graphic from the strategic plan when planning next was here. It's also in the document itself. So this helps talk about the priority prioritization and budget process to incorporate the strategic plan in the budget. So the blue that starts in January through May, that's a strategic plan review and ongoing. The capital improvement plan is in the gold, and then the TEAL that starts in mid-September is the budget adoption. So right now is the time that we're working to prioritize the strategic plan in preparation for the budget. And as part of that, we are when I give a quarter one update. Not in January of the beginning of the year because the funds have already been appropriated. So we want to identify the strategic plan goals and objectives for 2027 now through the uh before the budget's created, that way we get those items into the budget and appropriated there. So for the quarter one update, um, we have drafted implementation matrixes identifying collaborators, collaborations for each objective of signed uh champions for each plan goal who will provide uh assistance and structure and accountability and encouragement throughout the implementation. We've engaged with planning next to review and recommendations on integrating Arge Hanna into internal processes and forms, and then we have begun to track projects that are currently in progress that support the plan's goals and objectives. As part of the also of quarter one, we have looked at project management software to better track uh not only the strategic plan but departmental projects and capital projects as well. Um so Kelsey uh is a management analyst and DAS has uh spearheading this project. Uh she has held stakeholder needs assessment meetings, analyze those meetings to identify software requirements, and then began she's begun to research uh products. So, as this project management software continues moving through the process, we'll keep you updated as we work towards finding a solution to hopefully implement this year. Sorry, let me just look at my nose real quick because I feel like a slide is missing. Okay. Um, so some of the objectives we have completed this year. We have done goal to identify a champion in each department to track implementation. Um, and then as well as we've connected the strategic plan with the charter review process. Uh that's when Sarah Bongiorno from Planning Next came in and did a presentation at one of the very first charter review processes. We also have 70 plus 76 plus projects in progress that meet different objectives from the strategic plan. Uh, one of the ones I wanted to talk about here today is the incorporation of the mission statement. Um, as a reminder, the mission statement is to guide the internal organization and employees. So it serves to energize staff in their role of implementing the overall vision for the community. So the tagline for it is serving the community with pride and purpose. These are photographs from the new civics center. You can see that desk kind of sticking out there before they're escorted back to those departments. And then on the right side, you can see from the lobby, there's the customer service windows, and then above it, you can see on the second floor it has the tagline of serving the community with pride and purpose. So residents and employees who enter the front door will see it when they enter there as well as in the break room. And if you enter employees enter through the back door, it is on a very large wall in front of the elevators in the main stairwells as well.
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