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Palm Bay showcases in-house budget tracker, advances utilities projects and ratifies union contracts
Summary
City staff unveiled an in-house 'Budget Runner' funding tracker to improve transparency and quarterly reporting; utilities staff reviewed water/wastewater expansions and a planned RO plant to address PFAS; council approved labor agreements with NAIGE Blue and NAIGE White and several consent items related to fleet reappropriation.
City staff on Oct. 6 introduced "Budget Runner," an in-house funding-tracker dashboard designed to centralize budget, grant and project information and provide quarterly reports to the council and public, officials said.
Jessica Henchman, budget program administrator, said the tool will provide daily financial updates, integrate grant tracking and allow departments to monitor the status and phase of projects. "Our hope is to integrate this program with our new Workday system, but for now, this is our current fix," Henchman said. Budget analyst Shane Bird demonstrated the dashboard and described modules for authorization requests, purchase requisitions, purchase orders and invoice tracking.
Separately, Utilities Director Gabriel Bridal updated the council on capital work. He said two South-plant expansions (adding 2.3 million and roughly 2.0 million gallons per day) are funded by growth/impact fees, and the city expects an additional RO plant at the North to improve PFAS/chloride compliance and system resiliency; staff provided a phased startup schedule for the South Regional Water Reclamation Facility (dry checks Oct. 27; wet checks in December; phased online Jan'Feb).
On labor relations, council approved contract ratifications reached in executive session with NAIGE Blue and NAIGE White bargaining units. City staff said the agreements add Christmas Eve as a paid holiday, include wage adjustments, modest longevity pay enhancements and specialty pay for wastewater operators. "Yes, this is an expense, but more importantly, it's an investment," the city manager said.
Council also approved a consent-agenda reappropriation of fleet purchase orders delayed by manufacturing and upfit timelines; Public Works Director Kevin Brinkley explained that supply-chain and multi-vendor upfit scheduling can delay delivery and that rolling purchase orders into the new fiscal year is now being presented formally to council.
What the council will see next: staff said Budget Runner reports will be provided quarterly and that more detailed site-plan-level reviews will be required for large capital projects. Any future budgetary impacts tied to contracts will be included in budget cycles
