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Council committee accepts Councilwoman Green's $66.44 million operating-budget amendment for further review
Summary
Councilwoman Green presented a package of operating-budget changes she said would return $66,440,000 to reserves by reducing expenditures and increasing projected revenues; the committee accepted the resolution for placement on the next wrap-up session and agreed to delay a final vote until June 2 to allow members and directors to review details.
Councilwoman Green introduced a broad operating-budget amendment the committee accepted for debate and further review; she said the package reduces planned expenditures by $36,940,000 and increases revenues by $27,527,000 for a total of $66,440,000 to be returned to the city's reserve fund.
Councilwoman Green, the lead sponsor, walked the committee through specific line-item adjustments she proposed: a reduction in group life insurance based on FY24 actuals; removal of three ARPA-funded animal-services positions; cutting a $650,000 mayoral grants and subsidies line back to zero pending public process; removing a $450,000 Family Safety Center line the sponsor said is no longer operating; moving an affordable-housing fund line of $3,600,000 back into general fund reserves until projects are shovel-ready; trimming dues and periodicals; and holding MATA funding to $15,335,000 until MATA provides a budget and audit. Green also proposed revenue-side increases including $4,000,000 in state-tax projections, $13,000,000 in local taxes (including a conservative $10,000,000 entry for XAI-related receipts), an increase in court-related receipts to $8,000,000, and a $5,000,000 estimate for permit and police services revenue tied to special events.
Green described personnel-related savings from the administration's hiring-controls and vacancy management: a projected $10,000,000 from a continued new-hire review and an estimated $6,000,000 from positions vacant for more than 18 months. She proposed a conservative $2,000,000 estimate for a blight-remediation revenue stream tied to an expected registration/fine structure. "All of that totaled up together gives us $66,440,000 back into the fund balance," she said.
Mayor Young (present in the meeting) and Chief Financial Officer Walter Person responded with concerns about budgeting practice and timing: the mayor said he was not supportive of moving some committed funds back to reserves and warned of downstream obligations, and Mr. Person noted some lines that appear unspent may be encumbered for required paving work. The city court clerk, Sakita Johnson, told the committee there are account reconciliations and suspense-account balances that need review and that some court receipts are recorded in an unallocated account rather than division-specific lines.
Committee action: Councilman Ford moved and Councilwoman Walker seconded a motion to accept the resolution for debate; the motion carried and the item was placed for debate on the next wrap-up session. Vice Chair JSW then moved — and the committee agreed — to delay a final vote on the amendment until the committee's June 2 wrap-up so members can meet with directors, review appropriation statements and additional data, and propose amendments.
What this means: The Green package is a multi-step proposal and was not adopted as budget policy. The committee accepted the package for full committee debate and set a procedural timeline (June 2) for members to analyze the details and return with amendments or recommendations. Several council members emphasized protecting frontline services (police, fire, and certain public works) from hiring freezes while the committee analyzes the proposed savings.
