Council committee reviews 2025 spring supplemental; court security, water cybersecurity and three new general-fund FTEs highlighted

City budget staff presented the 2025 spring supplemental ordinance to the Management & Finance Committee, outlining final adjustments for 2024 and initial adjustments for 2025 and identifying several items that will move forward to study session and then regular council for approval.

Tyler Phillips, budget program manager, told the committee that 2024 adjustments were mostly technical or previously included in the adopted 2025 budget. He called attention to one 2024 item in the wastewater fund: a $1,200,000 supplemental to cover third-party drainage review contracts initiated late in the year, with much of the work carrying into 2025.

For 2025, Phillips said significant general-fund items include three requested FTEs: one in finance and one in human resources tied to implementation of the city’s new paid-time-off policy (combined ongoing cost of $271,000, offset by a change in short-term disability benefits), and a third FTE for an assistant city attorney that would add about $138,000 in ongoing costs to build out the litigation section and reduce reliance on outside counsel. Phillips said the budget also includes a $388,000 ongoing appropriation in court administration to cover the marshal and detention divisions’ compensation changes.

Phillips described three supplementals in the capital projects fund submitted by court administration totaling $6,563,000 in one-time costs: $787,000 for design and engineering, $276,000 to update jury assembly restrooms to meet ADA requirements, and $5,500,000 for courthouse security expansion including new fire alarm control panels and infrastructure upgrades. Phillips said $1.3 million in prior court administration savings was already transferred to the capital projects fund and an additional $400,000 of 2024 savings is proposed, for $1.7 million total toward the project.

On water and wastewater, Phillips described three FTEs shared across the funds to enhance Aurora Water cybersecurity (one senior security analyst and two network engineers) with an ongoing cost of about $445,000. Scott Newman (IT staff) later explained that the positions would be paid from the water funds and described a governance model where the positions would either report to IT with a dotted line to Aurora Water or report to Water with a dotted line to IT.

Committee members asked about the assistant city attorney FTE, outside counsel savings, and court capital needs given expectations about case referrals to county courts and potential legislative changes. Jack Major, senior deputy city attorney (sitting in for the city attorney), clarified that much outside counsel spending comes from the risk fund, so adding in-house litigation capacity can reduce overall city spending even if it does not directly reduce the city attorney’s operating budget.

Phillips concluded by saying the ordinance will proceed to study session and then be scheduled for regular council for formal approval. Committee members requested follow-up materials on the IT/water staffing governance and additional detail on court capital needs as the item moves forward.