Commission presses staff on budget-book errors; tables new budget software purchase
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Summary
After citizens and Commissioner Christy Bittner flagged discrepancies between the submitted program budget and the adopted state certificate, staff said spreadsheet formula errors and late audit entries caused the differences; the commission tabled a ClearGov software purchase pending competitive review and approved a budget calendar for 2027.
Commissioners spent the bulk of their Feb. 10 meeting examining how the city’s program budget book diverged from the adopted state budget certificate and what corrections are needed before the next budget cycle. Citizen auditor Christy Bittner pressed staff for line-by-line answers; staff said formula errors in the program budget and ongoing audit entries produced the apparent $2 million differences between the documents.
Missy, a finance staff member presenting the responses, said the city produces three versions of its budget book: a draft submitted in July, a revised submitted book presented in July, and the final adopted book posted after the September adoption. "The third book is the adopted budget. This is done every year," she said, adding that a last-minute decision to lower a sewer rate and manual edits introduced formula breakages that propagated throughout the program book. City Manager Darren and other staff said auditors were later on site than usual and that accounts continue to change until an audit is closed.
Bittner and other commissioners identified multiple discrepancies: pages in the program book that listed total resources of about $74 million while the state certificate and adopted totals cited roughly $72 million. Staff argued the state certificate contains the legally binding totals and that the program book’s errors would have risked spending beyond legal authority had they remained uncorrected.
On procurement and transparency, staff proposed purchasing ClearGov budget software (annual cost $34,515, plus a $15,120 one-time setup) to automate the budget book and create public-facing budget pages. Several commissioners questioned buying another budgeting tool while the city is implementing a Tyler financial management system already under contract. The mayor and multiple commissioners asked for competitive bids and additional vendor comparisons before committing. A motion to table the ClearGov purchase for further information and a bid process passed.
Separately, the commission approved a proposed 2027 budget calendar that schedules departmental budget briefings, starts smaller-department reviews earlier in the cycle, and plans joint sessions with the county on assessed valuation and related tax assumptions.
The commission framed the wider effort as fixing procedural weaknesses and improving transparency. Commissioners thanked Bittner and finance staff for the detailed review and said they expect a cleaner, automated process before the next budget season.
