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Committee reviews pulled memos and departmental updates: budget tools, Fair Park costs, TAR and audits
Summary
Members discussed several pulled memos and updates including program-based budgeting tools, Fair Park unexpected repairs and revenue adjustments, Technology Accountability Report items, vacant property registration questions, and the city auditor—s periodic special audits.
Committee members pulled several memos and heard brief updates and Q&A from budget, technology and audit staff. Budget and Management Services said the city will use a program-costing tool that leverages AI to help departments cost programs; staff said program-level results will be included in the city manager—s recommended budget and that a summary table of programs by department will be provided.
Members queried a budget accountability report about general fund variances and Fair Park forecasts: Park and Recreation forecasted higher expenditures due to utilities ($2.9 million) and additional maintenance, and convention center event forecasts were adjusted downward (from 73 planned events to a 69-event forecast for the period discussed), affecting both revenue and expenditures.
In Technology Accountability, ITS said a new voting-record dashboard was developed for Governmental Affairs, some fire-station alerting work has moved into implementation with recent site visits and Honeywell contract sign-off, and the vacant-property registration project remained on track for a May 2025 milestone. ITS confirmed a recent backup incident was being reviewed and that backups are managed centrally; when failures occur teams re-run and verify backups. Committee members asked whether city-owned properties are included in vacant-property oversight; staff said they have a land-management system for city-owned vacant properties and are coordinating internal administrative improvements.
The city auditor presented the office—s regular internal update. Special audits required under the charter for departing officials continue to show recurring administrative issues (access badges, parking stickers, and city property accounting); the auditor said staff provided training on expectations for off-boarding and recommended coordination with HR and administrative committees to formalize a leave/turn-in checklist to reduce recurring findings. The auditor also briefed the committee on public-safety-related audits and corrective-action tracking.
