City Finance Director Lonnie Clark presented new charts and graphs prepared by Cheryl King at the August 27 council meeting, which showed 2013-2018 financial data for all city departments. Clark said the information was very useful but most important, the presentation showed what was available so council can get what it wants for explaining city finances in the manner they understand best.
Council and Clark discussed how far back data needed to go for each report. Alderman Bob Thomas stated as long as departments stay within budget, details are less important and a summary should suffice, although he did like seeing four-year trends as a comparison.
Clark also presented a sales tax report that indicated through June 2018, the city experienced a 14.67 percent increase over the same period a year ago. In fact, sales tax revenue in six of the first eight months eclipsed the same months in all but two of the past seven years.
Clark presented the data supporting the mid-year budget adjustment resolution. He said nothing looked too much out of line, and Thomas did ask for a sheet showing how the Infrastructure Improvement funds were being spent.