The city’s budget picture keeps getting grimmer.

City sales tax collections dipped in November, but officials said Tuesday the city should meet its budget projections by the end of the year – barely.

The city collected $1.5 million in sales taxes during the month, down from $1.6 million the year before. Overall, this year’s receipts of $16.28 million are down from $16.42 million at the same point in 2001.

“It’s not an encouraging trend,” Finance Director Ed Mull-ins said Tuesday.

City Manager Mike Wildgen said Tuesday that interest on idle funds also was down. The city budgeted $900,000 from interest on idle funds for 2002; with only a month left, only $750,000 has been earned.

And the news comes a week after city officials found out they’ll start the 2003 budget year in the hole. Gov. Bill Graves says the state is ending “demand transfer” payments to cities and counties. Lawrence officials say that could take a $1.3 million chunk out of next year’s budget.

“There aren’t a lot of real positive revenue indicators for any county or city out there,” Wildgen said.

City officials have spent the year adjusting to the slow income pace, most prominently instituting a hiring “chill” to slow the replacement of departed city employees.

Officials said the city should meet its sales tax budget of $17.65 million for 2002. The city needs to collect $1.37 million this month to meet the goal; it collected $1.39 million last December.

“Barring a really horrible month, we should make it,” Mullins said.

But the sales taxes generated by holiday shopping sales won’t make it onto the city’s books this year. Sales tax collections usually are entered about a month after the sales. That means December’s collections will reflect Lawrence’s November sales.

“It’s done,” Wildgen said. “What’s out there is out there.”