City staff asked the City Council to approve a one‑year budget amendment that would move $1,939,000 from the 2016 sales tax fund into a dedicated reimbursable‑capital account to cover temporary cash‑flow needs on several large reimbursable projects.

The chief administrative officer explained that the city faces a cash‑flow challenge when it pays for capital work up front and must wait 30 to 120 days for reimbursement. Staff said the city has used 2016 sales tax receipts in the past to cover reimbursements but that auditors recommended a cleaner approach; a line of credit was discussed but staff said the bond counsel advised that not all jurisdictions can establish such a credit instrument. The staff proposal would create a restricted fund into which the transfer would be made and from which reimbursements would be paid only for reimbursable capital projects.

Staff cited several current projects with overlapping reimbursable payments: a police training fund appropriation of about $330,000 this year, a roughly $2.4 million city‑hall renovation, a $340,000 renovation of a fire station, and water/sewer/gas projects that are also reimbursable. The CAO said the goal is not to spend the 2016 sales‑tax dollars for non‑authorized uses but to provide temporary cash so projects can proceed without interruptions.

Council members asked several questions: whether the funds would be returned to the 2016 fund (staff said reimbursements would be redeposited into the restricted reimbursable fund and not commingled back into unrestricted 2016 tax balances), whether the 2016 sales‑tax enabling language allows sewer reimbursements (staff said auditors advised it does), and whether the city could instead direct certain utility budgets to be funded by the 2016 tax during the budget process as an alternative. Staff agreed to ask the city auditor, Colin, to confirm the legal and accounting treatment in writing before the council takes final action.

No vote was taken at the meeting; staff planned to seek a formal resolution on the council agenda after receiving auditor confirmation.