While many in Richmond are struggling to pay their bills during the pandemic, City Hall surprisingly remains awash in cash.

Just three months after issuing a gloomy forecast of an im- pending $6.6 million deficit, Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced Monday that the city is projected to finish the 2019-20 fiscal year with a $4.7 million surplus in the general fund.

Though representing less than 1 percent of the total budget, the surplus signals that revenue collections continue to run stronger than anticipated since COVID-19 became a fact of life.

A quarterly financial report that was just issued indicates the city’s collections of general fund revenue should reach $750 million when all the data is in — or $6.1 million more than projected in a May report and $34 million, or 4.8 percent more, than the $715.8 million collected in the 2018-19 fiscal year. Total collections also surpassed the $746 million the City Council included when it approved the 2019-20 budget in May 2019. One item shows just how much better the city is doing than was anticipated in March. City Hall had anticipated a $15 mil- lion cut in revenue collections from city taxes and other local sources because of the virus outbreak. However, the city report shows the city projects it will finish the year down just $3.3 million from those sources. That’s an $11.7 million difference. The city’s stronger than expected finish appears to be good news for the mayor as he campaigns for re-election. None of his opponents offered any comment on the positive report.

The announcement follows the pattern of recent years under Mayor Stoney in which the administration warns of deficits nine months into a budget year and then winds up with a surplus by the end of the 12-month budget cycle.

The latest positive outcome occurred despite sharp drops in collections of meals taxes from restaurants and lodging taxes from hotels, sectors hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus on dining and travel.

The positive finish involves the regular money the city collects and disperses, according to the city’s statement. The projected small surplus does not include $40 million in federal CARES Act money the city has received to cover costs and expenses related to COVID-19. Nor does it include additional millions of dollars in federal reimbursement for virus-related spending not covered by the CARES Act.

“The city appears to have weathered the economic impacts of this pandemic locally,” Mayor Stoney stated in releasing the projection.

Budget Director Jay Brown, who issued the fourth quarter report showing the surplus, stated the city’s financial health remains sound due to “conservative budgeting and proper fiscal management.”

That included halting discretionary spending and imposing a temporary hiring freeze, according to the statement. Those changes saved between $4 million and $6 million, according to the report.

The report indicated general expenditures totaled $739 million, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier but still below the $743 million that was expected to be spent. The actual surplus will not be verified until an audit is completed in November.

“If accurate, this is good news,” 9th District City Councilman Michael J. Jones, chair of City Council’s Finance Committee, stated in a text responding to a Free Press query.

“At a minimum,” Dr. Jones continued, “we should look at mitigating the damage the pandemic has caused our citizens that are on the margins” in considering how to use the surplus.

Dr. Jones and 1st District Councilman Andreas D. Addison, chair of the Government Operations Committee, called for more discussion about the surplus and its uses.

“There are going to definitely have to be more discussions about these numbers remaining true,” Mr. Addison said in his response. “We also have to be very diligent about how we utilize and leverage these dollars. We need to use every cent to maximize its impact on those who need assistance or to support our core services.”

On the revenue side, Dr. Brown’s report indicates the virus might have cost the city about $7.7 million in total meals tax collections. Still, that’s far better than the $13.7 million loss the city had anticipated. The meals tax total includes the portion set aside to repay the cost of construction of three new school buildings that are to open in September.

Meanwhile, collections of taxes on real estate, vehicles and other personal property and city vehicle licenses are running at 100 percent of budget projections. Collections of taxes on businesses, cigarettes, bank stocks and admissions to theaters, concerts and other events also are hitting projections.