Susan Thompson (Staff member) briefed the finance committee on general fund revenue trends, new property‑tax revenue cap calculations and a proposed schedule of budget workshops to reconcile revenues and expenses under tighter constraints.

Thompson explained the new cap is a revenue limit computed as the greater of a base‑year levy or an adjusted levy plus 3 percent. She walked commissioners through three calculations used to determine the cap, including how new taxable value, expired TIF increments and expired exemptions are added or removed to generate an adjusted levy. Thompson said the assessor’s preliminary mill value is a moving number that firms up after county and state appeals and emphasized the cap is on revenues, not spending. “Nope, it's on revenues,” Thompson said when asked for clarification.

On state shared revenues, staff flagged a recent League of Cities projection that briefly showed a 10.5 percent drop but was updated to project a slight increase; Thompson said that change produced roughly a $1 million swing in the current draft. She also noted a new state program that will pay up to $1,600 per residence (as discussed) will change how some credits are recorded on revenue lines.

Commissioners and staff discussed allocation mechanics (for example, how to account for the airport levy) and scenarios for allocating the cap among city funds; Thompson said there is no statutory guidance dictating allocation patterns and presented multiple scenarios for commission consideration. Staff proposed a series of budget workshops beginning the week of July 14 to review department expense proposals, capital plans and options such as fee changes, targeted service reductions or alternative revenue changes.

No formal decisions were made at the meeting. Staff said they would provide department summaries, updated revenue projections and model scenarios to the commission ahead of the workshops for informed decisions.