Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Midyear topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Helena finance office reports midyear budget position; warns of grant delays and capital carryovers
Summary
Finance presented the city’s midyear budget review: adopted revenues of $104.7M and appropriations of $109.4M, $14.7M in revenue carryovers and $43M in appropriations carryover; staff flagged federal and state grant pauses that could delay projects and noted a $1 million shortfall in Civic Center electrical upgrades
City finance staff on April 16 delivered a midyear budget summary and a capital overview that outlined revenue, expenditure and carryover status for fiscal year 2025 and raised concerns about uncertainty in federal grant funding.
Director Danielson summarized the adopted budget and year‑to‑date figures: “We adopted for all funds $104.7 million in revenue and $109.4 million in adopted appropriations,” she said, and later noted $14.7 million in revenue carryovers tied mainly to capital and debt service. Danielson said amended appropriations through December totaled about $153.9 million after carrying forward capital projects and purchase orders.
Grant funding uncertainty: Grants administrator Amanda Opitz briefed the commission on delays to several federal awards, including RAISE and other federal programs. “We did have an initial kickoff meeting for the RCE grants last week. However, the kickoff meeting itself was just more of a meet and greet with project managers, and still have not heard whether or not the response are going to continue,” Opitz said. She said the city had seen a “pause” affecting many municipalities and that staff were working with Montana’s congressional delegation.
Capital carryovers and major projects: Danielson described capital projects carried forward into FY26, with $43 million in appropriations carryover largely attributable to multi‑year water and wastewater projects and other capital work. She said major upcoming requests include resolutions in May related to water and wastewater revenue bonds and a wastewater loan the city received for equipment purchases.
Civic Center shortfall: Facilities staff reported a shortfall in the Civic Center ballroom and auditorium upgrade after electrical and compatibility issues were discovered in design. Facilities Director Harris said the electrical work made the project roughly $1 million short of funding. Director Danielson said staff were pursuing TIF and grant options but that the other alternative would be to use general fund cash reserves or to consider borrowing, which raises capacity and repayment questions.
Reserves and capital funding policy: Danielson reviewed the city’s reserve levels: a policy operating reserve equivalent to about 60 days of operating costs (roughly $4.6 million), a contingency reserve around $2.576 million, and other earmarked reserves for homelessness solutions and community donations. She said the city estimated an available cash balance near $2.48 million to fund general capital needs going into FY26 and proposed roughly $1.157 million for general capital projects.
Next steps and context: Danielson told commissioners she expected further budget amendments for a few divisions and noted the firefighter union contract negotiations and other collective bargaining items as budget uncertainties. Commissioners asked for more detail on project timelines and grant contingency planning; staff said they would return with bond resolutions for water/wastewater projects and continue monitoring federal grant statuses.
