Powell Finance Committee Meeting — March 10, 2026

The Powell Finance Committee met on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers at 47 Hall Street, Powell, OH. The committee reviewed the December 2025, January 2026, and February 2026 financial reports, approved Q1 2026 supplemental appropriations for referral to City Council, discussed revenue forecasting methods and the 2026/2027 budgeting calendar, and heard an update on a potential community foundation fund through the Delaware County Foundation. Most items were handled by consensus; no roll-call votes were required.

Consent Calendar

• The minutes from the Finance Committee meeting held November 10, 2025, were approved by consensus with no objections.

Financial Reports

• Staff reviewed the December 2025 and February 2026 monthly reports in detail. The January 2026 report was skipped in the interest of time since it covers only one month of the new year, but members were invited to raise questions on it.
• Full-year 2025 results: Other revenue was $2.4 million, which was 162% above budget. Interest earnings were up 20% in 2025 compared with the prior year. Total operating expenditures were $11.9 million, or 80% of the budget, slightly higher than the prior year, indicating tighter budgeting.
• The city ended 2025 with a positive change in cash flow of $398,048 — less than the 2024 change in cash flow. Total expenses across all categories were up 10% compared with year-to-date 2024.
• Tax revenue receipts were 102.6% of budget. Since the 2022 income tax rate change, the city receives roughly a 2.8% annual increase in tax revenue.
• February 2026 year-to-date: Tax revenue was 13.9% of the annual budget, below the 16.6% goal for two months of the year. At the same time in 2025, tax revenue was 15.5% of budget.
• Personnel and operating expenses were each at approximately 14%–15% of budget — below budget but on track. Capital items were at 23.2% of budget, described as a little high, partly because vehicles were purchased three at a time, creating a heavier single-month expense. Total expenses were up about 2% compared with February 2025.
• The planning department spent just under $25,000 for its design guidelines update. Monthly legal services were also noted.
• Staff observed a decrease in revenue compared with year-to-date 2025 and will continue monitoring, including reaching out to Rita to identify patterns. A prior discussion about mailing postcards to remind residents to file was noted; that vendor does not do that for the city.
• The city manages its own portfolio and works with a cash-management partner (referred to in the transcript as “CashFest”) to determine when to invest excess cash in higher-yielding securities versus keeping funds in liquid accounts. The city also monitors Star Ohio, where a large amount of money is invested.
• A member asked about the significance of the total available funds line at the end of the report, referencing the $398,048 positive change in cash flow.

Q1 2026 Supplemental Appropriations

• Parks and Recreation part-time instructors: This is the first year the parks and recreation team will use a pool of part-time instructors rather than independent contractors. The original budget was approved for $3,000 instead of the needed 3,000 hours, so an adjustment was required.
• Street sign data project: Funds were reappropriated for a project to gather data on all street and regulatory signs. The funds were not used in 2025 because the project did not start, and staff requested the reappropriation in 2026 to move the project forward.
• The remaining items were described as relatively small.
• The committee expressed no objections and agreed to place the supplemental appropriations before City Council for approval the following week.

Revenue Forecasting Discussion

• A member stated the city has never been able to do revenue forecasting with any sense of confidence and expressed interest in improving on the current method of taking the average percentage increase over the last five years and applying a ballpark figure.
• The member noted OSU comes on board in August, and while significant revenue may not materialize this year, it would be helpful to know next year’s projections in advance. The member also wanted to better understand the sources of revenue and noted that large capital project costs will require careful planning.
• Another member responded that the forecasting method would differ for every revenue category: income tax is the easier projection, but other categories require assumptions about new businesses coming online — and a crystal ball is ultimately needed.
• One member observed that with studies now available, council and subcommittees face decisions about which projects to pursue — a challenge never faced before. The comment referenced additional housing, limited land availability, and the need to prioritize among initiatives.
• A member commented on the emphasis on oncology and whether related salaries may be higher than anticipated when the original modeling occurred.
• No formal action was taken. The revenue estimates are needed by summer, per the schedule discussed in the next item.

Upcoming Schedule for Financial Reporting, Debt Planning, and Budgeting

• The 2026 calendar lists all legislative items, with Finance Committee items in red and City Council items in blue, and shows the annual budgeting and legislative timeline.
• Staff proposed moving the debt discussion to July because more concrete information and price estimates on the bridge type study for the Souda Street extension are expected in the May–June timeframe, which will impact the debt to be issued. The Bennett Farm project was also referenced as a factor; the city lacked sufficient information about the project when budgeting.
• A member questioned why the city would finance a project when the money is already budgeted and available. Staff explained that the Bennett Farm decision was made without enough information at budget time.
• The committee will not hold its regular meeting next month (April 2026) because it competes with the State of the City event.
• No questions were raised on the schedule itself.

Other Business: Delaware County Foundation Community Fund

• Staff (Jeff and Heather) met with the Delaware County Foundation the day before or two days before the meeting. The Foundation’s representative, Chris Baker, recommended establishing a community foundation fund rather than separate funds for specific purposes such as parks and recreation or public art.
• Under this structure, the city would be the owner of the fund within the Delaware County Foundation. Donations would be specifically allocated to the city’s pool. The Foundation provides a level of separation that may make residents more willing to give than donating directly to the city — as one member put it, residents may support public art or statues but not want to write a check directly to the city.
• Examples of similar funds include a Brown Township building fund, a Brown Township Delaware County fund, and the City of Delaware community fund. Donors can search all funds through a dropdown menu on the Foundation’s website.
• A member asked whether an advisory committee would assist the Foundation on the use-purposes side for each locality. The example was given of a community that submitted an application to use funds for its village square, with the Foundation releasing the funds to the city.
• A member noted the city previously had no place to put donations and that one donation was directed to the Hart Foundation in the city’s name because no city account existed. The new community fund would provide a home for such gifts.
• Members joked that the city “will never be as cool as the zoo” (where people can name baby animals), but one member said that after hearing the presentation, the reaction was: “why haven’t we done this before?”
• The committee agreed to continue the conversation with the Delaware County Foundation and bring the item back for further discussion.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes of the November 10, 2025, Finance Committee meeting were approved by consensus.
• Financial reports for December 2025, January 2026, and February 2026 were received and discussed; no formal vote was required.
• Q1 2026 supplemental appropriations were approved by consensus for referral to City Council for action the week of March 16, 2026.
• The April 2026 Finance Committee meeting will not be held due to the State of the City event.
• The debt planning discussion was tentatively moved to July 2026, pending bridge type study estimates for the Souda Street extension.
• No formal action was taken on revenue forecasting; discussion will continue, with revenue estimates needed by summer 2026.

Note: The raw transcript for this meeting contained garbled or incomplete portions (including the “oncology” discussion and references to OSU coming on board in August), and the agenda listed no minutes for this meeting. The summary reflects the information that could be reliably extracted from the transcript.