The city is not overly concerned about how the virus will affect the budget at this time; however, there are still a lot of unknowns right now, Hampton said. For example, there is a two-month lag between when sales tax money is collected from businesses and when the state administers it to cities, meaning Friendswood has not yet received sales tax money for March or April, she said.
The city is also tracking what it has spent on COVID-19 supplies in case reimbursement is available. However, the city has not had to spend much so far, Hampton said.
Friendswood is also in the early stages of planning for next fiscal year’s budget, though there is still a lot unknown about how long the effects of the virus will last, Hampton said. She said by September the city hopes to have a better idea of how the virus will affect the next budget.
“We are planning to approach our budget for next year in the same process we always do,” Hampton said.
The city will be looking even more closely at revenues to see if it will be able to maintain the same level of service it offers now, Hampton said.
The city relies mostly on property taxes, so it is hopeful it will not have to adjust the budget too much for this year or next year due to a potential loss in revenue from sales tax, Hampton said.
“We are very fortunate that property taxes are our main revenue sources,” Hampton said. “Sales tax is volatile because economic downturn affects that dramatically. We are more of a bedroom community.”
