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Committee approves ordinance to enable multiyear appropriations, staff cites Questica implementation
Summary
The committee approved a bill to allow multiyear appropriations for capital and grant-funded projects, enabling the city to track multi-year projects in Questica and reduce annual carry-forward processes.
The Finance Committee voted to approve consideration of a bill (listed in the packet as Bill Number 2025-7 / Ordinance 2025) that would authorize multiyear appropriations for capital outlay, grant-funded projects and certain special appropriations, and that would sunset a Finance Director carry-over authority under Section 11-2.4 effective Dec. 31, 2025.
Assistant Finance Director Alexis Latero and Finance Director Emily Oster told the committee the change is possible because the city is implementing Questica software, which will allow multiyear appropriations to be recorded and tracked while annual figures continue to be posted in the city’s Munis financial system. “Purchasing Questica and implementing multiyear budgeting will really help,” Finance Director Emily Oster said, describing improved tracking, reporting and elimination of recurring annual carry-forwards.
Why it matters: City staff said capital and other one-time appropriations often span multiple fiscal years and that the current Munis-driven annual appropriation model forces repeated administrative work to carry funds forward. The ordinance aims to align the city’s budget practice with the charter and to free staff time for other priorities.
Oster outlined how multiyear appropriations will allow the budget team and departments to monitor project spending year to year, watch pace of expenditures and ask timely questions if projects are spending too quickly or lagging. The ordinance also includes a provision to sunset the Finance Director’s authority to carry certain unexpended appropriations into the next fiscal year as of Dec. 31, 2025, according to the packet materials presented.
Councilors welcomed the change as a modernization step. Committee members asked that staff’s multiyear reporting be included in future budget hearings so the council and mayor can see the status of one-time appropriations and capital projects as part of the budget process.
Ending: The committee approved the measure and will forward it to the full governing body for final action; staff said the change supports the city’s FY2026 budgeting timeline.
