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Finance committee to seek appropriations for reimbursements and $300,000 in engineering fees
Summary
Sunbury City finance staff told the committee they will ask council to increase appropriations to cover reimbursements and outstanding engineering invoices, including work on the East Side Utilities and Little Walnut Creek interceptor.
Daryl, finance staff member for Sunbury City, told the finance committee on April 16 that staff will ask the City Council to approve appropriation increases to move reimbursements and to cover outstanding engineering invoices.
"There is no ordinance on the agenda for tonight, but there will be an ordinance forthcoming," Daryl said, adding that staff will present the formal ordinance at a later council meeting. He said staff is requesting about $300,000 in engineering fees to cover invoices for multiple projects.
The memo in the committee packet lists reimbursements that officials want reappropriated to the original expense accounts. The memo identifies a 50% payment from Big Walnut Local Schools for the Big Walnut Intermediate School Trail construction, a $13,000 reimbursement from Pulte Group for snow and salt services, and an approximately $7,300 refund for a spreader purchased at the end of 2024. Daryl said those amounts should be returned to the general fund or the streets department so the funds can be used for their intended purposes.
On engineering costs, Daryl said invoices totaling about $127,000 are outstanding for the East Side Utilities project and that the $300,000 request reflects anticipated engineering bills across several projects. He told the committee that some of the outlays are currently fronted by the city and are expected to be reimbursed by developers in the future.
Committee members pressed staff for clearer net figures. One member asked that the ordinance or an accompanying memo show "$300,000 minus what we expect" to be reimbursed so the council can see the net increase to the budget. Daryl said he could provide a memo showing the expected reimbursements but was not certain whether that breakdown would appear on the ordinance itself.
Committee discussion also covered contracting practices for engineering work. A staff speaker described asking the city’s consultant to provide task orders that show a total "not to exceed" estimate with line items so the city can compare spending to an agreed budget. The staff speaker said that approach helps the city see whether a project is 30% designed but 90% spent and to identify overruns earlier.
No appropriation ordinance was enacted at the meeting; Daryl said a formal ordinance will be brought to council in a future meeting.
