Council hears year‑end budget review as finance staff and members clash over carryovers and reporting formats

City finance staff presented a year‑end general fund report and 10‑year planning update, prompting extended questioning from council about how the city reports carryovers, audited cash and amended budgets.

Finance staff reported a June 30 cash balance of about $10.2 million and said the city expects to transfer roughly $7.9 million from street‑related gas tax funds to offset eligible general‑fund costs. Staff also told the council that the federal FEMA/SAFER reimbursement (related to fire staffing) and remaining ARPA carryovers are still being reconciled and could change the audited numbers once the year‑end audit is complete.

Council members pressed staff for an explicit reconciliation showing the adopted/amended budget figure, encumbrances, carryovers and the year‑end actuals. Several council members said the new reporting format (Oracle extracts) no longer mirrors the prior AS‑400 reports and makes it difficult to compare adopted budgets to reported totals; they asked staff to add an adopted/amended‑budget column and clearer carryover detail in the next quarterly packet.

Finance staff said carryovers in the streets fund and other special accounts historically resulted from multi‑year capital projects and federal/state reimbursements; staff estimated that most current carryovers will fall to around $2–3 million once final invoices and audits are closed, but that some $10.1 million in street projects is expected to move between fiscal years as work completes.

Council debated how to treat one‑time reimbursement timing (such as SAFER) versus recurring revenues and reserves for forecasting the 10‑year plan. The presentation noted the city’s new 10‑year plan targets a roughly $9 million beginning reserve for FY 2025‑26, higher than the previous model’s $6.8 million, and explained the difference as a combination of department savings, one‑time reimbursements and changes in carryover accounting.

Discussion grew heated during a back‑and‑forth about reporting formats and the need for clearer month‑by‑month, amended budget and adopted budget columns; staff said they will try to provide additional columns and a reconciliation but warned that the changed accounting system requires some manual work to reproduce former report layouts.

The council asked for a staff follow‑up showing: (1) a reconciliation of the year‑end audited cash to the beginning cash used in the new 10‑year plan, (2) an itemized list of carryovers and encumbrances, and (3) an updated reporting template that includes adopted/amended budget columns and monthly detail or clear quarterly trend lines.