Helena council presses administration for line‑item transparency as budget overruns persist

Helena City Council met to review an amended version of the 2023 budget and to press city administration for clearer, more frequent reporting on where money has been spent. Council members said they were surprised to see previously projected surpluses turn into categories requiring amendment and asked the treasurer and department heads for detailed inventories, contractor invoices and revenue reconciliations.

Councilmember Speaker 2 said the body needed a better public explanation for overruns: the council "should be a little bit more communicative" about why the city needs to amend a budget and what specific line items caused the overruns. Treasurer Speaker 9 and staff said the amended figures use actual 2023 results as the budgeted amounts to avoid future overages and described several discrete causes of variance, including an unanticipated health‑insurance increase, payroll reimbursements processed through the general fund, and the purchase of a water department truck that was paid from general funds.

Administration described recent demolition work tied to a housing authority agreement. Staff reported they sought a $50,000 change order that was denied by the housing authority, said a contractor performed much of the heavy demolition work (approximately $190,000 in contractor work referenced by staff), and said about $100,000 was returned to the city under the negotiated arrangement. Staff also said most 2024 activity to date has been vacant‑lot cleanups rather than full house demolitions and that invoices for a small number of completed demolitions remain pending.

Several council members asked whether work now contracted out could be performed in‑house to save money. Administration responded that some tasks require specialized equipment and training (track‑hoe operation, ditching, hauling) the city workforce currently lacks; staff proposed targeted training and ongoing evaluation of which tasks are safe and efficient to keep in‑house versus keep contracted.

The council heard that the water‑rate study will recommend staged rate increases on higher consumption tiers to reach a breakeven point and that larger increases may be needed to qualify for certain forgivable loans or subsidies. Staff said the study by Dennis Sternberg would be shared with council and suggested a focused session to review the recommendations before any rate changes.

Treasurer Speaker 6 detailed acute cash‑flow timing pressures: sales‑tax and turnback receipts arrive in the month in which payroll and pension obligations may already be due, leaving the city with limited liquidity and outstanding obligations (phone and camera contracts, body camera payments, street‑light bills). Speaker 6 said the city continues to balance immediate operational needs against limited month‑to‑month cash reserves.

In response to council requests for clearer information, administration committed to producing an accessible packet (with links and a table of contents) earlier and to beginning monthly, highlighted treasury reports that call out emergency expenditures and line‑item variances. Staff agreed to gather department inventories, invoice detail for demolition and landfill receipts, and project lists for pending cleanups so council members can better answer constituent questions.

No formal vote on the amended budget occurred during the session. The council agreed to place deferred items on the next regular meeting agenda and adjourned after the scheduling discussion.