By Adrian Skabelund |Arizona Daily Sun
The city of Flagstaff fell short of its expected sales tax income by almost $1 million during the past fiscal year.
Now city officials are trying to figure out what happened and what it means for the budget going forward.
The missed revenue also means Flagstaff City Council allocated $490,000 that the city doesn’t have during the budget process earlier this year. The sales tax dollars lost mainly go to the general fund, which council uses to address specific goals each year.
Management Services Director Rick Tadder said even though the city doesn’t have enough to cover the approved budget, that shouldn’t mean council will have to make cuts or reallocate funds.
That’s because Tadder said the city rarely spends all the money that is allocated in budget, often because of unfilled staff positions. For example, the city spent $2 million less than council allocated in last year’s budget.
