Perry Council adopts budget amendment, debates how to account for county transit tax passed through to UTA

Perry City Council on Aug. 28 unanimously adopted Resolution 2025-18 to amend the city’s fiscal year 2025–26 budget, moving several planned charges into the current year and adding limited new appropriations tied to police, parks and the wastewater treatment plant.

City Recorder Shanna presented the amendment as largely a set of bookkeeping and timing adjustments, saying the changes would move previously budgeted work that was billed in July into the current fiscal year and add funds for items not included when the original budget was prepared.

The amendment includes: $49,500 reallocated to cover street sweeper expenses (split between the general fund’s streets line and the storm drain fund); $49,500 in storm-drain-related cash rolled from FY25 into FY26; a $2,000 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) grant for police; $72,000 added under community development to cover a Hemco contract the city had approved; and $24,044.26 added to the sewer fund to cover a revised offer for a wastewater treatment plant lead operator.

Shanna said the amendment would be funded in part by $180,294 of unrestricted fund balance in the general fund, including $94,500 of carryover that was not spent in FY25. She told the council that using fund balance would leave the city with about 23% in unrestricted fund balance, and that alternative options would include reducing some capital transfers.

Council members used the public-hearing and discussion period to press staff for more detail about a separate issue: a county transit tax collected and shown on local tax reports that is owed to the regional transit agency (UTA). Shanna and staff told the council the state tax commission and city attorneys had advised the city to show the receipts coming into the city’s books and then transfer them to UTA. That treatment required the city to budget a revenue line and a corresponding pass-through expense for the transit district funds.

Council members said they were uncomfortable showing on Perry’s books a tax the city cannot control or spend. The council asked staff to pursue alternatives with the county and the tax commission, including drafting a letter to request the tax be distributed directly to UTA, and to delay executing transfers until the city has processed its reimbursement from a separate UTA project payment. Shanna said staff would prepare a signed letter for the mayor and would not execute any transfers immediately; the budget amendment itself, she said, simply recognizes the receipts and planned pass-through accounting for the fiscal year.

Council members also questioned specifics about impact-fee projections and sewer-rate forecasting. Staff said impact-fee collections were trending close to the forecast (about 10% collected in early FY26) and that the proposed $24,044.26 sewer addition is intended to cover the higher salary offer for the new lead operator; staff recommended considering a rate increase in FY27 to preserve required debt-service coverage.

After discussion, a council member moved to approve the resolution as presented; the motion was seconded and passed on a unanimous roll-call vote. Council members recorded as voting "yes" in roll call were Council Member Young, Council Member Walker, Council Member Osler and Council Member Tueller.

The council’s formal action adopts the budget amendment as proposed while directing staff to: (1) draft the authorization letter to the tax commission/UTA for automatic transfers going forward; (2) delay executing pass-through transfers until staff confirms reimbursement timing from the major road project and until the council gives further direction; and (3) return with any needed follow-up amendments if the county or tax commission changes how the transit tax is distributed.

The council also received a routine July fiscal update from staff showing year-to-date revenues and expenditures across funds; staff reported sales tax receipts above prior-year figures and no immediate budgetary concerns.

The resolution took effect upon adoption and the city recorder said staff would return if further amendments were required after county/tax-commission follow-up.