Finance department proposes $24.4 million general‑fund budget for FY26 and a multi‑year ERP/FAST investment

CFO Bala and Deputy CFO (DCFO) Carr told the Finance Executive Committee that the Department of Finance proposes a $24.4 million general‑fund budget for FY26, and will make a phased multi‑year investment in a new business‑licensing system (referred to as FAST/ATL Biz) to modernize licensing, permitting and revenue collection.

Bala said the department recorded recent recoveries of outstanding revenue “in excess of $26,000,000” and that watershed refundings produced about $42,000,000 in present‑value savings. She also reported that a longstanding pension‑data audit finding has been closed after work by the controller’s team, HR, actuaries and the law department.

The nut graf: the finance presentation combined near‑term operational work (collections, payroll improvements, CRM and AI tools in revenue) with a planned capitalized, multi‑year purchase and implementation of a new revenue/business licensing system; that implementation is the principal driver of an increase in “other financing uses” in the FY26 operating presentation because the city is using a multi‑year financing approach.

DCFO Carr explained the staffing snapshot shown in the packet: the department reported 76 positions total, with roughly half filled at the time of the slide; some positions will be abolished in a personnel paper while others will be filled to ensure succession and continuity for anticipated retirements. Carr said financial‑systems positions that support Oracle are cost‑split among the general fund, watershed and aviation because those teams support citywide systems.

On line items, Carr said personnel increases (about $1 million) are driven by benefits, compensation‑study outcomes and pension plan changes; purchase‑service contract reductions reflect one‑time spending this year; capital outlays cover a small vehicle purchase and prior computer purchases explain a drop in supplies. She said the $4.4 million increase shown as “other financing uses” on the slide is the initial year‑of‑payment related to the multi‑year financing for the FAST licensing system; the full vendor estimate presented to the committee was larger and the project will be phased over multiple years.

Council members praised the finance team’s work on collections, debt and forecasting and asked for continued close monitoring of revenue projections and near‑term operational capacity in advance of increased city activity. Bala and Carr emphasized ongoing Oracle optimization work, partnership with Deloitte and a continued push to consolidate Oracle functionality and dashboards for end users.

The committee did not take a formal vote during the presentation; council members asked for continued reporting and collaboration on the FAST implementation and on near‑term revenue and staffing metrics for FY26.