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Council adopts midyear budget amendment after administrators report $5.57M sales-tax uptick and reduced utility transfer
Summary
City officials approved a 2025–26 major budget amendment that raises sales-tax revenue projections by $5,571,000, reduces a planned transfer from the municipal utility by $3,233,000 and reflects an expected $7,000,000 decrease in fuel pass-through costs; councilors and staff discussed sanitation shortfalls and workforce constraints during review.
The Alexandria City Council on a vote adopted a midyear major budget amendment that adjusts revenue and operating estimates for the 2025–26 fiscal year, city officials said.
Administration staff told the council the amendment raises the sales-tax revenue projection by $5,571,000 and reduces the scheduled transfer from the municipal utility to the general fund by about $3,233,000. "Revenue, we're increasing sales tax prediction by 5,571,000," the presenter explained, adding the adjustment is a conservative reconciliation required by state law. The administration also cited an expected $7,000,000 reduction in fuel pass-through costs that will lower customer charges, which the presenter described as "less for them because the pass through will not" be passed on at prior levels.
The mayor (S4) framed the amendment as a routine "true up" of projections and cautioned that while retail activity looks stronger, the city maintains conservative forecasting practices. "The statute itself that forces you to reconcile at midpoint already sort of presupposes that it's material," he said, noting the midyear process compares actual receipts against prior predictions.
Council members questioned which parts of the city were producing the additional sales tax and whether the parish reporting system could provide neighborhood-level details. Staff said parish reporting does not provide that granularity but the city could acquire tools to track receipts more precisely. Committee members also pressed on sanitation and enterprise funds after the administration said sanitation operations would require an additional roughly $3,000,000 true-up for the year to cover fuel, rolling stock and other costs.
After discussion in committee, members moved the amendment to the full council. The full council then voted to adopt the ordinance authorizing the major budget amendment (motion by Councilman Fowler, second by Councilman Johnson); the transcript records the motion as carried.
What happens next: City staff will finalize the line-item adjustments in the published budget documents and implement the reconciled transfers and enterprise-fund allocations. The amendment does not itself set new permanent rate changes for utilities; the mayor and staff repeatedly noted rates were not being changed as part of the midyear true-up.
(Reporting notes: figures and program names are taken directly from the presentation and council discussion. Where transcript details did not record a formal roll-call tally, the action is described using the meeting’s recorded outcomes.)
