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Alameda adopts midyear budget adjustments and workforce changes; council splits 4–1 over staffing
Summary
The council adopted midyear budget adjustments and approved workforce changes March 3, projecting a $10.8 million residual fund balance and approving limited staffing adjustments; council member Dasoc voted no over a disagreement about the number of sworn police positions frozen in the adopted budget.
The Alameda City Council adopted midyear fiscal-year 2025–26 budget adjustments and approved a package of workforce changes on March 3, passing the resolutions 4–1.
Finance Director Ross McCarthy told the council staff had limited the midyear requests to technical corrections, time-sensitive items and new grant activity in line with council policy. He said staff proposed $229,000 in ongoing general-fund increases and that one-time revenues such as transfer and interest income mean the city now projects an ending residual fund balance of about $10,800,000 in addition to the council’s 25% reserve policy.
Budget manager E Cat Burton and other department leads walked through department-level requests and grants. McCarthy and Burton said staff recommended several one-time and non-general fund adjustments and that AMP had two approved position upgrades via the public utilities board.
Council members pressed staff on multiple items. The mayor asked about $94,567 listed as "miscellaneous revenue" for Recreation and Parks; Finance said the amount reflects long-held customer deposits and bookkeeping adjustments discovered while migrating to new software. Council members also asked about a $61,000 overtime and related repair cost after a sewer-force-main damage at the golf course. Assistant City Manager Amy Waldrich said the city has sent a letter to contractor Greenway Golf and is working on potential reimbursement: "Greenway Golf ... didn't do the proper USA ... they hit our line," Waldrich said, explaining staff are pursuing reimbursement.
Staff highlighted a $118,200 donation from the Friends of the Alameda Free Library to support the library’s summer reading program. Council member Dasoc stated for the record that he opposed the overall adopted budget because the number of frozen sworn police positions remained at 72 instead of the historically higher level; Dasoc voted no. The motion to adopt both the midyear budget amendments and the workforce changes passed 4–1.
Council directed staff to continue administration of approved items and to return with required reporting. The midyear adoption is final; individual requests and grant receipts will be reflected in the city’s accounting and follow standard reporting.
