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Stonecrest approves FY2026 budget amendment to restart about 20 carryover capital projects
Summary
The council voted 5–0 to amend the FY2026 budget to provide budget authority for capital projects left unencumbered in prior years, a move staff said will free roughly 20 stalled projects. Finance Director Kesha Franklin said the city’s temporary shortfall was due to revenue timing and that $3 million in receipts have since been posted.
The Stonecrest City Council voted unanimously March 9 to amend the FY2026 budget and re-establish authority for numerous previously approved capital projects that were not encumbered in the original 2026 budget.
Finance Director Kesha Franklin told the council the adopted 2026 general-fund budget is about $19 million. Through the end of February 2026, the city had collected about $852,000, roughly 5% of the annual budget, while expenditures year-to-date were roughly $2.3 million, about 12% of the budget. Franklin said those temporary deficits largely reflect timing: since the report was run staff have posted about $3 million in additional revenue, including approximately $2.6 million from Georgia Power and about $500,000 from other receipts.
Franklin said the amendment focuses primarily on the capital-improvement fund (Fund 300). "At year‑end departments sometimes have funds left over for projects that are not encumbered, and those dollars do not automatically roll forward without a budget amendment," she said. Council members asked for assurances the problem would not recur; Franklin recommended formalizing year‑end procedures and providing departments training on encumbrances and budget documentation.
Councilman Terry Fi moved the resolution to amend the FY2026 budget; the motion passed by roll call vote, 5–0. The amount read into the record contains transcription typos but was stated in the meeting packet; staff will provide the exact, finalized amendment figure in the official resolution and post the updated budget documents online.
Mayor Jasmine Kbble and other council members praised staff for reconstructing records after the city’s earlier transition from third‑party management, but emphasized the need for clearer internal controls and routine reconciliations so capital projects do not stall. Franklin told the council she will post the presentation and the updated budget materials on the city website by the end of the week.
The amendment sets the budget authority that will allow staff to issue purchase orders and start the pending capital work. Council also directed staff to document a policy and training plan so remaining project funds are identified and encumbered during the year‑end process, reducing the need for future one‑time amendments.
