City manager details 'pre‑BUDS' capital readiness process, $42M pavement push and vacancy review
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Summary
Scottsdale city manager described a new capital 'readiness' vetting process and a $42 million pavement preservation push for fiscal year 2025–26, said a Thomas Road grant replaced reallocated funds, and outlined stricter review of vacant positions and contracting practices.
City management told the Budget Review Commission on Oct. 1 that Scottsdale has implemented a two‑stage vetting process to assess capital projects before they enter the city’s capital system and is investing heavily in pavement preservation this fiscal year.
City manager Greg Cate said staff created a “tiger team” — a readiness review for capital projects — and a pre‑BUDS (pre‑budget entry) screening to require concept, scope and feasibility before large construction figures are entered into the capital plan. Cate said the change is intended to avoid late‑stage surprises and to replace outdated cost assumptions; he cited the cactus pool example, where earlier bond‑era estimates proved insufficient for current construction expectations.
Cate told commissioners the city now budgets a feasibility/design step earlier in the process — staff commonly use an amount near $250,000 for early scope work — so later capital funding requests can be detailed about funding sources and gaps. "If that comes back at $50,000,000," he said, "we will say $31,000,000 from this funding source and $19,000,000 from this other funding source." He also warned that older bond figures from 2019 are likely far below current cost estimates.
On pavement, Cate said the city increased pavement preservation funding to about $42 million for the current fiscal year by reallocating funds previously earmarked for Thomas Road. "When we reallocated those dollars from Thomas, we therefore applied for a grant and received a grant for Thomas Road," he said, adding that the grant replaced those restricted dollars and allowed broader pavement work across the city, including a roughly $40 million investment in Old Town.
On staffing, the city manager said he has reviewed every vacant position for the last six months and is requiring department requests for recruitment to pass through his office. He described a recent high point of vacancies of more than 300 positions in prior years, a reduction to roughly 188 in April and then the addition of 98 newly authorized positions on July 1; he said the city is aiming for a working vacancy range rather than zero and noted differences in public‑sector retirement timing that affect turnover. He also said the city is reassessing when it is cost‑effective to use contractors versus in‑house staff and will seek competitive procurement when contracts come up for renewal.
Finally, staff said the finance office is preparing a financial condition/sustainability report and will include FY25 audit numbers when the audit is finished.
No formal commission action was taken on these operational updates; commissioners asked follow‑up questions about prioritization, project scoping and timing for next year’s proposed budget.
