Finance committee approves six resolutions; funds shifted to ADA ramps and contracts awarded for equipment, parks and infrastructure

The City of Charleston Finance Committee on April 7 approved six resolutions covering grant budget adjustments, equipment purchases and construction contracts.

Committee members voted by voice on each measure after brief staff presentations; all motions carried by voice vote with no recorded roll-call counts provided in the transcript.

The most immediate funding change was Resolution 25-28, which authorizes the finance director to amend Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) budgets from prior fiscal years to move contingency and a Recovery Point award into the fiscal 2024 CDBG budget to expand the city's ADA ramps program. Staff said the moved funds include leftover administrative contingencies from fiscal 2022 and 2023 and funds originally awarded to Recovery Point for a facility expansion that the vendor later declined; those funds were reallocated to ADA ramps. Committee discussion included a question about how many ramps could be completed; staff estimated ramp construction costs vary roughly $3,000–$5,000 per ramp but did not provide a total number of ramps expected to be completed with the transferred funds.

Resolution 25-29 authorizes the mayor and city manager to purchase a 2025 Ford F-450 from Nation Auto Fleet Group to tow a new Charleston Fire Department boat currently in production. Staff said the vehicle was budgeted this fiscal year and the purchase price came in under budget at just over $80,000 on a competitively sourced contract (staff said the budgeted amount was approximately $90,000). The fire boat delivery target is…