When it comes to a city budget, a good fiscal year is one with no surprises.

That’s the philosophy of Mexico deputy city manager Roger Haynes. And with three quarters of the current fiscal year in the books, he reports that the budget is on target.

The fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2020, and runs through the end of September. As of June 30, expenses from the general fund stood at just over $4.2 million, or 70 percent of the total budgets for the year.

Revenue to the general fund is running ahead of expectations. The June report shows income of more than $4.6 million, which is 89 percent of the amount budgeted for the entire fiscal year.

Haynes cautions that a sizable portion of that — almost $370,000 — is a one time CARES Act payment. Still, subtract that amount and the city is still ahead at 82 percent.

“We were pleased with fiscal year 2020 and so far 2021,” he said. “We haven’t been surprised by any revenue shortfalls.”

There are some minor trouble spots. Haynes notes that gross receipts from the consumption of electricity and natural gas are down. And he cites tax receipts from telecommunication as an area of concern.

“With the decrease in the number of landlines, tax collection has continued to erode,” he explained.

These losses, however, have been offset by strong sales tax numbers.

Sales tax receipts as of June 30 are almost 8 percent ahead of 2020 and 10 percent above the five-year average.

Haynes attributes the numbers to the pandemic. Fewer Mexico residents have been spending money in places like Columbia. As a result, several businesses have experienced their best year financially.

The change in shopping habits, he pointed out, has been a boon for both businesses and the city.

“The hard part to guess is will it continue,” Haynes said. “When it comes to fiscal 2021-22 we will budget conservatively.”

Another plus in terms of revenue for the city is the use tax passed last year. It went into effect in October 2020 and the city began realizing benefits two months later. For budget purposes city officials anticipated $127,000 from the tax for the fiscal year.

“We are forecasting it may bring in as much as $230,000 this fiscal year,” Haynes said.

The budget calls for the city to transfer $135,000 of this from the general fund to the Parks and Recreation Department fund to help with payments on the Aquatic Center loan.

The city oversees 27 different funds, of which 20 are active. They cover departments like parks and recreation, wastewater, public health, sanitation contracts and the like. But the general fund is the most detailed, with 14 different departments relying on its numbers.

Haynes says the major funds — parks, wastewater, public health and sanitation — are also in good shape going into the final quarter of the fiscal year. Getting to an accurate projection on expenses and revenue related to the new pool will be difficult for a few years, he added.

City officials will hold workshops on the FY 2021-22 budget in early August. In addition to decreasing collections from telecom, Haynes is projecting property, liability and workers compensation insurance costs to jump, perhaps by 10 percent.