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Council presses administration on why stormwater capital funds remain unspent; staff point to project capacity and allocations
Summary
Council members raised concerns that the stormwater enterprise has an $85 million fund balance while spending in FY24 was low; staff said funds are largely allocated to open capital projects and that limited project management capacity has constrained deployment
Council members questioned why the stormwater fund, which staff reported holds roughly $85,000,000, has repeatedly budgeted about $36,000,000 for capital but spent much less in FY24 (about $17,900,000), and whether the city can deploy a proposed $38,000,000 FY26 program efficiently.
Staff said a substantial portion of the stormwater fund balance is already assigned to open capital projects such as the Dartmouth/5‑Points project, where the administration estimates roughly $10,000,000 is carried as an open project balance. Staff added that project delivery constraints — notably limited project managers and engineering oversight — have slowed contracting and execution of some projects.
“To unlock the ability to deploy funds for very important projects,” a staff member said, the department is adding project management and engineering coordinator positions to increase delivery capacity and manage contracted work.
Council members asked for a clearer reconciliation that shows fund balance, committed project allocations, restricted reserves (including post‑closure or related liabilities where relevant) and unallocated funds available for new capital. Staff agreed to return with a project‑level rollout plan and a timeline for deploying funds, plus explanations of any fund balance distinctions between budgetary presentation and full‑accrual financial reporting.
