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When I spoke to City Manager Mary Suhm on Friday, she reminded: As she works to cutgut $131.1 million from the FY2010-2011 budget that’s due to council next month, the numbers change “every day.” Why, she said, at the end of last week “we
got a good sales tax check — not wonderful, but at least it’s not going
down — so that changes stuff a little bit.” In fact, in a fiscal year full of bad news with brief glimpses of hope, the May numbers are by far the best yet.
Yesterday, Frank Librio at City Hall sent the specifics: For the month of May, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts cut the city a sales-tax check of $15,915,967 — which is $1.79 million more than Suhm had originally projected for May. Not only that, but it’s $955,459 more than the May 2009 sales-tax haul. But, she reminds the mayor and council in the memo that follows, don’t get too excited: “Although May receipts are positive, sales tax revenues for the year are forecast 2.2 percent, $4.5 million, below budget.” The year-to-date numbers follow.
