Radcliffe city finance staff briefed the City Council on Tuesday about a proposed ordinance to amend the fiscal year 2024–25 budget after two departments exceeded their allocated line items. The council was asked to consider an amendment in August because some June payables did not clear in time for the July agenda.
The city’s finance presenter, Chance (finance staff), said the administration department exceeded its allocation by about $50,000 against a roughly $1,350,000 budget and planning/building (economic development planning and building) exceeded its allocation by about $30,000. "The good news is that the amounts are very nominal in nature," Chance said, and described revenue offsets tied to the overages.
Chance explained the planning department overage resulted from higher-than-expected contractor costs for electrical inspections; the city received higher inspection revenue to match. On the administration side, the city retained a third‑party tax collection vendor and passed the vendor fee on to taxpayers; the vendor fees were paid as part of tax collections and, Chance said, produced a net increase in delinquent-tax collections. He also reported an unplanned replacement of an air-conditioning unit; the presenter stated the replacement cost as "$808,500 dollars" in the meeting record.
The finance presentation framed the request as routine: staff said Radcliffe typically brings an amendment in August when June payables arrive after the July agenda cutoff. No formal council action on the ordinance was recorded in the meeting transcript; staff indicated they would present a draft ordinance for council consideration. "As you all know, the ordinance governs each of the departments and the totals that we allocate," Chance said, describing why the line-item amendments are needed.
Council members asked no substantive follow-ups during the presentation. Staff also noted that occupational tax, payroll tax and insurance premium tax receipts exceeded budget estimates during the year, which staff said covers the proposed adjustments.
Staff will deliver the formal ordinance language and backup documents to the council for a future reading; meeting minutes say staff will provide supporting documents, including the June payables and the relevant revenue detail, when the ordinance is placed on an upcoming agenda.