General fund discretionary revenue supports City services that don’t have a dedicated funding source. The general fund supports services and programs like police, fire and rescue, parks, transportation, and housing. Some other services and programs, like water and sewer services, are almost entirely funded by rates charged to city residents and businesses. Others still are funded with other types of legally restricted dollars, like grant funds.

The majority of general fund revenue comes from property taxes, business license taxes, public utility licenses, and logging taxes.

If the general fund does not grow faster than the City’s expenses it can lead to budget cuts.

The numbers show that the growth of general fund discretionary revenue has slowed in recent years. This slowdown is due to several reasons including slower growth in property taxes, a drop in business license tax revenue, and lower income from lodging taxes.

As the growth of general fund revenues lags behind the rising costs of operating city government, the City is exploring ways to reduce expenses for the FY 2025-26 budget.

The percentage is calculated by comparing the general fund discretionary revenue from one fiscal year to the revenue from the previous fiscal year.

To learn more about the budgeting process, visit the City Budget Office's (CBO) Introduction to the Budget webpage.

To see more information about the general fund discretionary revenue, visit CBO's revenue dashboard.