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ChatGPTClaudePerplexityOpinion City revenue · Part 3
How well Amarillo's budget predicts what actually happens
Amarillo Ledger ·
Says what the Amarillo Ledger thinks about the record. The facts in it are sourced on the linked pages; the conclusions are ours.
How well does the City of Amarillo's budget predict what actually happens? We checked five years of the City's audited reports.
On revenue, the General Fund beat its budget every year from FY2021 to FY2025, by $1.6 million to $14.7 million. Sales tax alone beat its budget all five years. In other words, the budget has consistently underestimated what would come in.
On spending, the City came in under its final budget four years running. Then in FY2025 it spent $11.6 million more than the final budget allowed. That same year, the General Fund's unassigned balance, the money not set aside for any purpose, fell $20.8 million.
When revenue keeps beating the budget and spending suddenly doesn't, residents deserve to know where the extra money went and why spending broke from the plan.
Every line, budgeted vs. actual, for five years: amarilloledger.com/revenue
