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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Powell Finance Committee Meeting - August 12, 2025

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, August 12, 2025

BodyPowell, Ohio

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateTuesday, August 12, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 50:54

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

All right, I'm calling to order the finance day meeting of August 12th.

0:08

Marcus Banisek here.

0:10

Jennifer Benefas here.

0:12

Leaf Carlson?

0:14

Here.

0:14

Tyler Herman is absent and Heather Carr.

0:17

Here.

0:19

All right.

0:20

With that, has everyone had a chance to review the minutes?

0:25

Any additions or corrections?

0:29

All right.

0:30

Then with that, we will approve them by consensus.

0:34

With that, we are in today's business.

0:37

Uh the monthly reports.

0:40

Started.

0:41

Okay, in the interest of time, I'll just go over the monthly report.

0:44

I'll skip over the cover memo.

0:46

I don't know if anybody had any questions on that, but we'll kind of go over the same information here in the report.

0:52

And I'll just kind of do a few pages on this just to touch on the main points for the month.

0:59

But overall, really good month.

1:01

We're numbers are still strong.

1:03

As of uh July, our operating revenues, all of our categories there are above the target budget percentage.

1:13

So as of July, our target is 58.3%.

1:17

All of our revenues here are strong.

1:19

They're above that target.

1:21

I'll call out the other revenue.

1:23

It is 90.5% of the budget.

1:28

A majority of that is interest earnings.

1:30

We have about a million dollars in year-to-date interest earnings, and that is a 25% increase from year to date 2024.

1:40

So this year doing very well with that.

1:43

Super smart.

1:44

Yes.

1:46

Within operating expenditures, that is still favorable compared to the budget, 48.6% there.

1:54

Personnel at 56.2, that's right on track for where we should be at the end of July.

2:01

Operating expenses at 43.7.

2:05

That's still a little bit low.

2:07

Some of that's timing related, but we'll keep an eye on those expenses and purchases throughout the year.

2:12

But it is a favorable variance to the budget there.

2:18

Also highlight the transfers through July.

2:21

It's showing 63.4%.

2:23

It's a little bit accelerated over the budget.

2:27

We did have to do a one transfer to pay the portion of the 2024 notes paying off the redwood portion of that note.

2:38

So we had to transfer funds for that payment.

2:43

But still total expenditures below the budget 53.3%.

2:48

And then our total current year unexpended balance just over 26 million dollars.

3:00

What's kind of the long-range plan for as we move into 2026 operational budget?

3:07

As far as the transfers go and the I mean essentially running at a deficit with the tax collections.

3:14

I mean, are those transfers then gonna is there something unusual because of the additional properties that are going on and that'll scale back and the or is there an intent to actually use some of the 20 million dollars that's in the general fund?

3:31

Um I mean with transfers, I think it's just kind of anticipated to stay on track.

3:37

Is that maybe I'm not really fully understanding?

3:39

Well, I mean, essentially this the so the operational revenue that's the 21 million dollars that you have every year.

3:46

So with the transfers to support capital and these other funds, that ends up at a deficit.

3:54

So is that the is that the plan to always run into deficit and spend down the general fund or I think of the usual situation this year?

4:03

The plan every year is to have positive cash flow for the year.

4:07

Yeah, okay.

4:08

So that just yeah, with projects and transfers for debt payments, that might is a little bit unusual for this year.

4:16

But I think also with the expression of those those larger liabilities and the operational transfers, being able to provide those earlier in the year and then see the cash flows enhance is helpful to get those off because there's some some of those are timing.

4:31

Um we don't have to spend too much time on it, but I wanted to talk about the positive trends that you see on the revenue ledger and also on the expenditure side, just kind of a wedge as they're going in opposite directions, which is an opportunity because we've talked about fairly aggressive capital investment strategy, but we've also talked about the possibility of looking at staffing with regard to how do we maintain some of that capital.

5:00

Um so as we look ahead, we think of some of these other projects we might be considering.

5:05

Um I see some opportunity with uh the trajectory of things, and it's something that's kind of inconsistent for the last couple of years.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget Review█████████████████████████████29%

Capital Improvements Planning██████████████████████████26%

Parks and Recreation████████████12%

Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%

Technology and Innovation████████8%

Procedural███████7%

Public Infrastructure███3%

Code Enforcement██2%

Debt Financing██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Powell Finance Committee Meeting - August 12, 2025

The Powell Finance Committee met on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers at 47 Hall Street, Powell, Ohio. The committee reviewed the July 2025 monthly financial reports, discussed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) details and funding follow-up from the July 29 work session, reviewed supplemental appropriations including new permitting software, and received updates on the 2025 debt issuance and the 2026 legislative calendar.

Consent Calendar

Approved the minutes from the Finance Committee meeting held on June 10, 2025.

Monthly Reports: July 2025

Staff reported a strong month overall, with operating revenues above the target budget percentage in all categories as of July.
Year-to-date interest earnings totaled approximately $1 million, a 25% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Year-to-date tax receipts totaled $11.8 million, a favorable variance of 6.4% compared to 2024 tax receipts; a little under half of that change was attributed to three larger businesses, and staff noted they are monitoring whether growth will flatten.
A transfer was made to pay the portion of the 2024 notes related to the redwood portion.
Approximately $927,000 in prior year encumbrances (e.g., 2024 purchase orders) rolled forward into the 2025 budget; staff noted the majority of the street maintenance program will be tracked for invoices over the next couple of months.
Staff cautioned that transfers supporting capital and other funds result in a projected deficit, although revenue trends are favorable and expenditure trends are moving in the opposite direction.

CIP Discussion and Follow-Up from July 29 Work Session

A shared use path project was missing from work session packets due to a budget software queue issue but is now included in the CIP under the shared use path item.
An aggressive $1.1 million debt-funded payment estimate for the city's large projects was split based on project timing after discussion with staff.
The CIP fund is projected to be negative in 2026 but is expected to recover in subsequent years; staff noted the projection is conservative and assumes all programmed dollars are spent.
The salt dome replacement includes design dollars in 2026 with construction scheduled for the following year.
The CIP approval scheduled for the second council meeting in September will not authorize spending the approximately $2 million pool line item; design work, bids, and supplemental appropriations would be required first.
Staff described the pool with the Old Tanti Swim Association as a potential dangerous liability without city intervention; options include closing the pool and returning it to green space (cost estimates exist) or making an investment with an estimated 20+ year shelf life. A new board structure with city oversight was also discussed.
Other costs highlighted included the tunnel, which the city must address, and the ground lease with the swim association; the city could be left with the infrastructure if the association is unable to continue.
A council member commented that the CIP information sheets were excellent but suggested adding a function in future years to show the impact on the operational budget, given the ongoing costs of new infrastructure such as software applications, lighting technologies, and traffic signalization on Selma Parkway.
Staff noted the city does not want to get ahead of the private development community and build a road that does not support a private concept.
A potential surface parking area near downtown was discussed; one speaker noted it is not the most attractive option but could provide additional surface slots with a cosmetic landscaping barrier to improve access to downtown.

Supplemental Appropriations

$8,350 for a Granicus encoder hardware update; the current system will no longer be supported with the Windows 11 upgrade due October 14.
$100,000 to replenish the RITA fees expense account after the city paid property taxes for Bennett Farm, which was new and not budgeted or anticipated at the beginning of the year.
$95,000 for the new permitting software line item; Logan's memo and presentation were provided, with questions deferred to him if needed.
Other items included plan review services, contracted services, telephone services for 47 Hall Street, and parks and recreation programming items.
Discussion of the permitting software highlighted that residents do not always understand the different permits they need and lack a clear guide; the new software will provide clear points for fees, inspections, reviews, and communication so applicants can log in and interact with staff directly.

Update on 2025 Debt Issuance

The new 2025 debt issuance closed successfully on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
Funds will be used to pay off the 2024 notes.
The city will issue one interest payment in 2025 and two payments per year in subsequent years.

Legislative Calendar and Upcoming Finance Priorities

September Finance Committee: 2026 fee schedule.
September 16: City Council resolution to adopt the 2026-2030 CIP plan.
October 14: Finance Committee and City Council review of the 2026 operating budget.
November 4: First reading of the 2026 budget before City Council, with the first December meeting as a backup if needed.

Key Outcomes

The committee indicated it was comfortable with the CIP as presented and will take it to council in September.
The supplemental appropriations and other items are expected to move to council, with one item noted as moving to council the following week.
The 2025 debt issuance closed successfully, and funds will be used to retire the 2024 notes.

Meeting Transcript

All right, I'm calling to order the finance day meeting of August 12th. Marcus Banisek here. Jennifer Benefas here. Leaf Carlson? Here. Tyler Herman is absent and Heather Carr. Here. All right. With that, has everyone had a chance to review the minutes? Any additions or corrections? All right. Then with that, we will approve them by consensus. With that, we are in today's business. Uh the monthly reports. Started. Okay, in the interest of time, I'll just go over the monthly report. I'll skip over the cover memo. I don't know if anybody had any questions on that, but we'll kind of go over the same information here in the report. And I'll just kind of do a few pages on this just to touch on the main points for the month. But overall, really good month. We're numbers are still strong. As of uh July, our operating revenues, all of our categories there are above the target budget percentage. So as of July, our target is 58.3%. All of our revenues here are strong. They're above that target. I'll call out the other revenue. It is 90.5% of the budget. A majority of that is interest earnings. We have about a million dollars in year-to-date interest earnings, and that is a 25% increase from year to date 2024. So this year doing very well with that. Super smart. Yes. Within operating expenditures, that is still favorable compared to the budget, 48.6% there. Personnel at 56.2, that's right on track for where we should be at the end of July. Operating expenses at 43.7. That's still a little bit low. Some of that's timing related, but we'll keep an eye on those expenses and purchases throughout the year. But it is a favorable variance to the budget there. Also highlight the transfers through July. It's showing 63.4%. It's a little bit accelerated over the budget. We did have to do a one transfer to pay the portion of the 2024 notes paying off the redwood portion of that note. So we had to transfer funds for that payment. But still total expenditures below the budget 53.3%. And then our total current year unexpended balance just over 26 million dollars. What's kind of the long-range plan for as we move into 2026 operational budget? As far as the transfers go and the I mean essentially running at a deficit with the tax collections. I mean, are those transfers then gonna is there something unusual because of the additional properties that are going on and that'll scale back and the or is there an intent to actually use some of the 20 million dollars that's in the general fund? Um I mean with transfers, I think it's just kind of anticipated to stay on track. Is that maybe I'm not really fully understanding?

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