City finance staff told the municipal council at the Aug. 18 caucus that they plan to introduce amendments to the 2025 calendar-year budget to reflect recent union contract settlements and additional grants. Administration staff said the state is still reviewing documentation tied to land-sale revenues, which may delay final adoption.

Finance staff briefed council members that the amendments would mostly account for salary and wage adjustments connected with a local union settlement and incorporate newly available grant revenues. The finance director said the administration aims to adopt the budget with minimal tax impact but that state review could push the public hearing and adoption later.

Councilmember Solomon proposed shifting existing council office funds to the Department of Infrastructure to hire traffic and engineering staff to address longstanding safety requests at intersections in the city. Solomon said filling engineering positions would allow the department to handle traffic-safety requests that have been pending for months or years. “If they don't have the resources, it's my job to find them the resource,” he said.

Finance staff and other council members discussed constraints linked to hiring: some professional positions are allowed despite a general freeze, but competitive salaries and niche recruiting can delay onboarding for months. Finance staff noted that contracts with outside engineering firms are available to fill gaps in the short term, but council members said repeated outsourcing is not a sustainable substitute for in-house capacity.

Council members also raised concerns about transparency and timing: one member said the mayor’s office had earlier tweeted items that provoked public concern and that the council had to respond while still awaiting complete budget documents from the state. The finance director said temporary appropriations and prior temporary budget authorizations have allowed city operations to continue while the final budget is prepared.

Ending: The caucus included detailed budget discussion and a proposal to reassign some council funds to infrastructure staff; the finance office will continue coordination with councilmembers and the state, and the council expects to review proposed amendments and any council-member amendments before formal hearings.