The City of Owensboro closed out the 2024-25 fiscal year with a $2.8 million revenue surplus and nearly $8 million in savings on expenditures, according to a financial report presented Tuesday.
The report was given by Angela Waninger, director of finance and shared services, during the Owensboro Board of Commissioners meeting.
She said that while June’s general fund revenues came in slightly below projections at $4.47 million, the City’s total revenue for the fiscal year reached $77.1 million. That exceeded the $74.3 million budget by nearly $2.83 million, or 3.8 percent.
“That variance is primarily due to higher-than-expected net profits and insurance license fees,” Waninger said.
She introduced a new year-end summary that broke down the City’s six largest revenue streams, which combined for 84 percent of all general fund income. Five of those six streams met or exceeded budget targets.
Occupational withholding tax revenue brought in $24.1 million, which was about $544,000 under budget. Waninger said that shortfall stemmed from a combination of incentive payouts, TIF-related activity, and what she described as an “aggressive” budget estimate.
Other revenue streams outperformed expectations. Insurance premium license fees rose to $8.9 million, which was $1 million over budget. She attributed the 12.5 percent increase to inflation, rising construction costs, and the nationwide impacts of natural disasters driving up premiums.
Net profits tax revenue reached $6.7 million, which was $1.7 million more than budgeted. Interest income also came in $800,000 above expectations, with Waninger saying it was due to stronger-than-anticipated rates, slower capital project spending, and higher cash balances.
City expenditures for June totaled $7.16 million, slightly under budget. For the full fiscal year, expenses reached $76.7 million compared to a budget of $84.75 million, a difference of more than $8 million.
Waninger said the savings came from delayed transfers to Owensboro Municipal Utilities, lower-than-expected spending on maintenance and capital projects, and personnel savings.
She also provided a breakdown of expenses by department, consolidating 14 departments into six categories for presentation purposes. All six finished under budget. The largest savings came from the non-departmental category, which was $4.7 million below budget due to the timing of incentives, project spending, and the use of ARPA and CARES funds.
Though the City finished June with a deficit of $2.7 million, Waninger said that outcome was expected due to the timing of year-end expenditures and the City’s overall revenue cycle, which sees spikes in October and January.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved filing the financial report for audit. A related ordinance, Budget Amendment 11-2025, was introduced during the meeting to adjust beginning fund balances and carry over unspent funds into the 2025-26 fiscal year.
