PED staff outline roughly $1.9 million in annual transfers from HRA/PED budgets to other city programs; some transfers unspent since 2019

Deputy Director Green and PED staff presented an itemized follow-up on transfers from PED/HRA operating and special-fund budgets to other city programs, answering commissioners’ budget questions and clarifying which transfers have been executed and which remain recorded but unspent.

Staff said the transfers total roughly $1.9 million on an annual basis when combined across several small items and larger transfers. Examples included a modest contribution to a city council policy-analyst position (about $84,000), a small transfer tied to district council support (about $18,000 attributed to PED operations while citywide district-council support totals are larger), and funding that supports minority-business development review work. RightTrack program transfers were identified (supervisory and job-coach support; staff cited figures in the range of $191,000 and $156,000 in separate line items described during the presentation) and a portion that funds a fair-housing coordinator position.

Staff explained that a $500,000 parking-fund allocation intended for the River Center parking ramp was approved in 2015 but has not been transferred since 2019 and therefore remains in the parking fund. PED staff said the transfer was not drawn down because the city did not incur the related expenses; if the budget includes the transfer going forward, OFS would execute it when expenses are incurred. Another parking-related transfer (about $345,000 referenced in discussion) funds parking-meter system work and is expected to be drawn down in 2025 to address general-fund cash position needs, staff said.

Commissioners asked about the history and impact of these transfers on departmental capacity. Deputy Director Green confirmed some transfers fund staff who perform cross-departmental work — for example, policy analysts supporting transit-oriented development and intergovernmental strategy — and that some of the line items reflect long-standing practices where origins were not fully documented in current materials. Chair Johnson and others said the overview was useful and requested follow-up on some items, including the duration of the Fair Housing coordinator’s funding and more detail on transfers that have been recorded but not spent.

Staff said the document will serve as the basis for more targeted follow-ups; no votes were taken on the transfers during the meeting.