Shelton — Interim Finance Director Jerry Schuster told the Shelton City Council on Sept. 16 that July financial reports show a favorable variance driven by permitting activity and higher investment returns, but cautioned that some fund balances are being drawn down for one-time needs.

Schuster reported the city’s Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) balance at about $18,847,000 and said the account is earning roughly 4.4 percent. The city also holds approximately $6,500,000 in U.S. Bank bond investments; two bonds of about $400,000 each are maturing next week and staff plans to reinvest the roughly $800,000 into the LGIP given current yields.

Schuster said the general fund is performing better than budgeted to date largely because permitting for new homes and one-time licensing revenue exceeded expectations. He cautioned, however, that those are not recurring revenues and staff will continue to monitor the year-to-date variance as construction projects progress.

Fund balances show some drawdowns, Schuster said, but staff emphasized those are planned uses of reserves for one-time projects rather than depletion of the city’s 20 percent policy reserve. The city’s full-time-equivalent positions in the general fund were reported as 5.5 vacancies filled since June; other funds showed four FTEs.

Councilmembers thanked staff and emphasized caution as the city moves into the 2026 budget process; a study session on next year’s budget is scheduled for late September.