Republic CFO restates 2025 budget, shifts operating items to capital and memorializes new building costs

Bob Ford, Chief Financial Officer for the City of Republic, presented a restated amended 2025 budget at a city workshop and said the changes mainly move capital-related revenue and expenditures into the capital budget while recognizing new revenue from utility rate increases.

Ford said the restated figures move capital items that had previously been in the operating budget back into capital — “We’re moving a million dollars out of the operating budget. We’re putting a million dollars in the capital budget” — and that the consolidated net surplus remains unchanged from the originally approved budget at $4,500,000 before the other amendments.

The nut graf: the amendment documents where money actually belongs, recognizes higher water and wastewater revenue from recently implemented rate changes, and shows incremental operating and capital changes that the city has already approved or expects to approve. Ford told the council the amended operating position improves by about $1,100,000 compared with the approved budget, driven mainly by higher water and wastewater revenue and increased interest income, while capital uses increase by $2,100,000 largely to fund the new administration…