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Council approves mid-year budget adjustments, moves reserves from 29.75% to about 25.4%
Summary
Council adopted mid-year budget amendments recognizing additional revenue (property tax, permits, library donations), transferring funds to park capital, IT and building maintenance, and authorizing increased contract recognition for Fire Station 20; the adjustments reduce the town's general-fund reserves from 29.75% to approximately 25.4%.
Jeff (finance staff) presented recommended mid-year adjustments to the 2025–26 budget, describing revenue updates and proposed transfers. Key points included upward adjustments to property-tax and permit revenue based on year-to-date collections, recognition of a late Friends of the Library donation (bringing total recent library donations to $200,000), and recommended transfers from the general fund to several capital and maintenance funds.
Notable recommendations were a $500,000 transfer from general-fund reserves to the Park Capital Improvement Fund to seed Robeson-related work and other park priorities, $75,000 to the IT fund for meeting-room and cybersecurity upgrades, and $100,000 toward building maintenance needs at municipal facilities. Jeff also reported that contract change orders have increased the Fire Station 20 contract from about $3.45 million to roughly $4.05 million because of proposed change orders, including an upgraded communications system and other modernization items; staff said Measure J and other project funds can absorb that increase.
Jeff explained the net effect of recommended transfers and adjustments reduces the general-fund reserves from 29.75% (as of 06/30/2025 audit) to about 25.4%. Council members asked for more formal policy language about when reserves below the 20% policy threshold might be used and requested the IFMC (finance committee) review a proposed policy for council consideration. When the council moved to adopt the mid-year resolution, the motion passed following a roll call in which most members voted in favor and one council member opposed.
The resolution was approved and staff will bring forward project-specific implementation steps and any follow-up IFMC recommendations about reserve policy.
