Niceville council adopts budget amendments to reflect new grants, approves $300,000 contingency for greens project

The Niceville City Council on Jan. 13 adopted amendments to the fiscal‑year 2026 budget to incorporate newly awarded grant funds and appropriations and to provide a contingency for higher construction costs on a parks/greens project.

City staff told the council that the amendments are largely cost‑neutral because they reflect grant awards and state appropriations received after the budget was adopted. Staff identified several line items added to revenue and expense schedules: roughly $68,500 in recently awarded police grants; a $350,000 state appropriation associated with Crossing Boulevard; and a $396,800 state grant for Deer Moss Creek Fire Station design and engineering. Staff said these awards were not known at the time the FY2026 budget was prepared.

The one non‑neutral request was a proposed $300,000 use of surtax reserves to cover potential contractor cost increases on the greens project after bids came in higher than anticipated. Staff said surtax reserves currently total in the range of $2.6 million to $2.7 million and that using up to $300,000 would not unduly strain that reserve.

Council members asked staff about contingency controls, descoping decisions already made to reduce cost, and how the county and city are sharing responsibilities on the project. Staff said the county will be the contracting entity for construction and the city will perform some in‑house work; staff also said project scope was reduced before bringing the contingency item forward.

The ordinance adopting the amended budget passed on council motion and second. Staff said they expect to present similar budget amendments as additional grants and appropriations are secured.

Next steps: staff will provide supporting budget detail and position the funded projects into the city CIP and project schedule as appropriate.