Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gunter council approves midyear budget amendments for police equipment, fire staffing and street work
Summary
Council approved midyear adjustments of roughly $234,000 to cover body cameras and vehicle purchases, additional on-call fire staffing pay, facility cleanup and materials for street projects; staff said funds are available in restricted revenue accounts and the amendments will be posted to the city budget.
GUNTER, Texas — The City Council on April 17 approved a package of midyear budget amendments to fund equipment and operational needs across multiple departments, including police body-camera procurement, additional fire on-call staffing pay, a contracted public-safety support position, a facilities remediation item and street work funding.
City staff outlined the principal amendments and fiscal rationale. Items included: - Police: funding to cover body-camera system costs (multi-year licensing/purchase) and vehicle additions previously approved. - Fire: an increase in on-call/daytime shift pay to ensure daytime coverage and a proposal to engage the fire captain as a contracted reviewer for plan/inspection work (staff proposed contracting the captain at a prorated annual amount to reflect technical plan-review duties in addition to emergency response). - Streets/public works: previously approved Hunter Road contract items and a $10,000 contract for sign installation and pole work were added to the budget ledger. - Facilities/demolition: cleanup and demolition funding for a burned structure (1145 Stonebridge Pass) and associated site remediation to clear foundation and damaged materials. - Court/administration: a clerk position and coverage to support initially expected code and court workload tied to new enforcement activities; staff noted available court-fee balances could offset some of the personnel cost.
Staff said the total amendments for the remainder of the fiscal year totaled approximately $233,862.08, and that the city has sufficient reserves and restricted funds to cover the changes. Council approved the amendments unanimously.
Why it matters: The amendments fund immediate public-safety and infrastructure needs without a general-fund supplemental tax increase. Approving the changes midyear lets the city complete previously approved purchases, shore up daytime fire coverage and proceed with contracted street work now rather than delaying until the next budget cycle.
Next steps: Finance staff to post the amended budget, process procurement as authorized, and return to council with any needed contract documents or procurement approvals.
