Brentwood committee advances proposed 2025 budget, discusses equipment reserve and park projects

The Brentwood Ways & Means committee on Oct. 16 reviewed the proposed 2025 budget and discussed how the city would use an equipment replacement reserve to cover several large capital items while rebuilding the fund over time. Staff said the proposed budget is balanced, with total revenues of about $31.4 million and total expenditures of about $30.0 million.

Bola and finance staff told the committee that sales tax remains the city’s primary revenue source, comprising roughly 74% of revenues, and that early payoffs of two tax-increment financing districts (Meridian and Hanley Station) are increasing available capital funding. The proposed general fund is $16.4 million and capital improvements are about $3.7 million. “We have met the city’s fund balance policy,” staff said, while noting the reported general fund balance percentage will change slightly once county funds are reconciled.

Committee members pressed staff on the equipment replacement reserve, which traces to 2013. Staff said the reserve contains earmarked assets and that some draws — for items such as a fire truck, phone system, vehicles and police body cameras — are appropriate because those purchases align with the reserve’s original purpose. Staff emphasized the city plans to replenish the reserve over subsequent years and that the 2025 proposed budget contains room to absorb pay-study-related costs.

Parks and recreation director Eric reviewed department highlights and capital requests, including completion of the Brentwood Park destination playground, new pavilion rental revenue (about $70,000 year-to-date) and an application for a $410,000 grant toward a Hanley Park parking and comfort-station project. Eric said the grant would cover roughly 40% of that project’s cost and that the parking-lot design has a cost estimate from Jacobs. He also proposed a $250,000 transfer to a Brentwood Parks Maintenance Improvement Liquidity Fund and a multi-year goal of building that balance to $1 million.

Public works staff reported recent FEMA-funded equipment acquisitions and outlined priorities for 2025, including stormwater bid-package work and an engineering recommendation to remediate the Rose Avenue bridge deck (estimated at about $225,000 of a $309,000 capital line). Staff also discussed an electric-fleet pilot, noting an EV truck would cost more up front (a quoted EV was roughly $58,000 versus $35,000 for a gas vehicle) and that charger infrastructure and security at the current garage present operational challenges.

Several aldermen raised procedural and planning questions: whether large potential redevelopment costs (not yet included in the capital budget) should be reflected as design or contingency line items, whether street-tree maintenance should be shifted between Parks and Public Works, and how the parks master plan — not yet adopted — will affect capital priorities. Parks staff said several projects in the master plan (Hanley Park, Mount Calvary) are listed as priorities but that funding will require multi-year planning.

Next procedural steps: staff said department directors will present more detailed capital and operating requests at follow-up meetings (scheduled for Oct. 22 and, as a placeholder, Nov. 7); a recommendation on an adopted 2025 budget is expected to reach the board for first reading on Nov. 18 and a second reading on Dec. 2.