Melbourne council adopts third-quarter budget adjustments, directs hiring incentives and pavement work
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Summary
Council approved a third-quarter budget review that reallocated transitory revenues to capital projects — including a major boost to the pavement management program — and discussed using salary-savings for recruitment incentives; staff will present details during future budget work.
The Melbourne City Council voted Aug. 26 to adopt its third-quarter budget adjustments, reallocating transitory revenues and vacancy savings toward deferred capital projects and other needs.
Finance staff said the package increases the general fund by $6.4 million, the water and sewer fund by $1.1 million, and capital improvements by $15.3 million; staff identified roughly $10.6 million allocated specifically to deferred capital items, with a significant share directed to the pavement management program.
Why it matters: Finance staff said the city has accumulated one-time revenue gains — largely higher short-term interest income and operating vacancy savings — and proposed using that money to address long-standing deferred projects. The pavement management program was highlighted as a top priority: staff said the city needed roughly $5.1 million per year (2015-dollar basis) to stabilize road conditions and that a cumulative shortfall since 2015 is about $26 million; accounting for inflation raises the annual need to an estimated $6.9–7.75 million.
Council discussion and direction: Vice Mayor Newman said staff should consider using portion of salary savings to fund an employee incentive program to improve recruitment and retention for hard-to-fill positions in City Hall; City Manager Jenny Lam (staff) agreed to pursue an incentive proposal and bring it back alongside the class-and-comp study. Council also discussed expectations for continuing or one-time nature of transitory revenues and cautioned that interest income is “transitory.”
Votes and next steps: Council adopted the third-quarter budget resolution at the meeting by voice vote. Staff said the budget moves are intended to close long-standing capital gaps and that some items would still require project-level planning and follow-up reporting; staff will return with future budget recommendations and implementation plans.
Key figures from staff presentation: - General fund increase: $6,400,000 - Water and sewer fund increase: $1,100,000 - Capital improvements increase: $15,300,000 - Task order examples funded from reallocations: pavement management program (largest single allocation), Fire Station 75 land purchase, IT master plan implementation, slope stabilization and pipe-lining projects that have appeared on CIP lists for years.
Staff cautioned the council that much of the additional revenue is due to temporarily higher short-term interest rates and audit-related collections in communications service tax; these revenue sources could tighten in future budget years and are not assumed to be permanent.