Ways & Means approves series of budget adjustments; commissioners request follow-ups on miscellaneous fees

The Wayne County Ways & Means Committee voted to approve a slate of budget adjustments covering multiple departments, moving to a single roll call at the end of the agenda. Vice Chair Bay Doon moved the package and Commissioner Anderson supported the motion; the chair called votes on tablets and the clerk announced the motion carried.

Items approved included a reallocation to cover the Smartsheet project-management purchase for Health, Human, Veteran and Senior Services; certification of funding for a federally qualified health center (FQHC); various reconciliations to close last fiscal year's accounts; sheriff's grants; a procurement-consultant cost adjustment in management and budget, and other departmental line-item reallocations.

Kamal Kapooroo, finance director for Health, Human, Veteran Services and Senior Services, said the department purchased Smartsheet and described "miscellaneous fees" as chart-of-account line items that cover operating items that do not fit purely into supplies or rental categories. Kapooroo said he would follow up with a breakdown of what is included in the large 'miscellaneous' lines and provide license-duration details for software purchases when asked by commissioners.

Philip Whitfield, budget director, explained a batch of late but valid budget adjustments he pushed through upon taking the position and said staff are processing reconciliations so the ledgers will balance at fiscal year close. The clerk's roll-call vote followed adoption; the motion carried without recorded amendments.

The committee asked staff to provide a standing update at future meetings on progress for budget priorities and to supply additional line-item detail where commissioners requested clarity.