City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 2025
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: KENDEL TAYLOR, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
DOCKET TITLE:
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Consideration of the Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending December 31, 2024.
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ISSUE: Receipt of the Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending December 31, 2024.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council receives the Monthly Financial Report.
BACKGROUND: The following discussion is a summary of the Monthly Financial Report for this period. Detailed comparative schedules are attached.
As of December 31, 2024, General Fund revenues totaled $456.1 million, an increase of $24.0 million, or 5.6 percent, compared to the same period in FY 2024. There are no significant variations in receipts through the midpoint of the fiscal year that are due to anything but timing, billing, posting and accruals. It is important to note that several revenue categories lag by one or two months (e.g., the City has only received 4 months of Sales Tax revenue and 5 months of other categories, such as Transient Lodging and Restaurant Meals Tax Revenue).
Revenue may not track consistently with a monthly calendar since many revenue sources have due dates that do not occur evenly throughout the year. The largest revenue source, real estate tax, is remitted twice per year and aligns closely with real estate tax revenue from the same period in FY 2024. Real Estate tax revenue was due to the City on November 15. Through December 31, 2024, the City has collected $266.8 million or 48.9 percent of the budgeted amount. This is comparable to FY 2024 when the City had collected $258.0 million as of December 31, 2023, or 48.5 percent of the budgeted amount. Personal Property tax revenue, including business personal property, is strong in FY 2025. Through six months of the fiscal year, $70.6 million reflects 93.4 percent of the budgeted amount compared to $64.2 million in FY 2024, which was 96.7 percent of the budgeted amount. Sales tax is nearly flat compared to last year. Despite the fact that inflation has slowed, prices remain high, impacting discretionary consumer spending in categories such as Local Sales and Use taxes, Transient Lodging and Admissions tax. Restaurant Meals tax is 6.4 percent higher than last year. Attachment 3 provides the 2nd quarter Investment Report. The annualized total rate of return of the City’s portfolio was 5.00 percent during the 2nd quarter of FY 2025, and the City earned $6.4 million in interest on investments.
Of particular interest at this time is federal funding and revenue received by the City from federal programs. In total, the General Fund is supported by $7.4 million of Revenue from the Federal Government. The largest single source is federal prisoner per diem, which accounts for $6.7 million of the total. Through December 2024, the City has received $3.3 million or 44.7 percent of Revenue from the Federal Government.
As of December 31, 2024, General Fund expenditures totaled $385.2 million, a decrease of $38.6 million, or 9.1 percent, compared to the same time period for FY 2024. Similar to the situation with revenues, no significant expenditure has occurred in the first six months of Fiscal Year 2025 that is unbudgeted or unexpected. The most significant difference is the timing of payments. The most significant variance compared to FY 2024 is the posting of interfund transfers, in December 2023 half of the City’s transfers to various funds had been posted (cash capital, transfer to the Libraries and Housing). These are accounting entries and do not constitute any economic indication. It is anticipated that the transfers will be recorded in month 7 for the full year.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Comparative Statement of General Fund Revenues
Attachment 2: Comparative Statement of General Fund Expenditures
Attachment 3: 2nd Quarter Investment Report
STAFF:
Kendel Taylor, Director, Finance Department
Morgan Routt, Director, Office and Management and Budget