La Junta report shows $178,673 General Fund deficit in detailed totals

La Junta’s June 2026 General Fund report shows a $178,673 year-to-date deficit in its detailed totals, while another line in the same report says revenue exceeds expenses by that amount.

The detailed table lists $5,428,491 in revenue and $5,607,165 in expenses. The arithmetic shows spending exceeded revenue by $178,673. The conflicting surplus wording appears to be a sign or presentation error; the records reviewed do not include an explanation from the city. The city’s posted financial statement contains both figures.

The report lists current General Fund assets of $5,501,023.39, down $396,689.94 from $5,897,713.33 a year earlier. Operating cash fell $636,835.82 and sales-tax receivables fell $628,053.13. Those declines were partly offset by a $1.27 million increase in investments or savings.

Sales-tax collections totaled $2,941,358 through May 2026. June and later entries are blank, and the report says sales tax is recorded in the month it is earned. The figure is therefore a partial-year measure, not a final 2026 total. The reviewed table does not provide a verified January-through-May 2025 comparison, so it does not establish the size of any year-over-year collections decline.

General Fund revenue reached 29.43% of the $18,448,100 annual budget, while expenses reached about 30.4% of budget. The report does not forecast a current-year shortfall or identify corrective action tied to the revenue and asset trends.

A July 6 City Council record says finance staff answered questions about the 2026 financial statements and that quarterly updates would begin at the next meeting. It does not record a specific budget-impact statement. Lower sales-tax receipts, if sustained, could make the city’s revenue target harder to reach, but the June report alone does not establish that the adopted budget will be missed.