Butte City Finance and Budget Committee approves expenditure list, reviews multiple small budget transfers

The Butte City Finance and Budget Committee voted 5–0 on June 10 to approve the committee's expenditure list for the meeting period; the amount was read in the meeting as $97,934.28. A committee member moved and another seconded the motion before members voted in favor.

The approval came after commissioners questioned specific claims on the expenditure list. Commissioner Walker asked about claim number 9942 on page 62 for work on the Phoenix building, noting a line item of about $318,58.73 as read. A staff speaker explained the charge covered third-floor construction — demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical and fire sprinkler work — and said the project is funded by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) whose total was described in the discussion as either $700,000 or $750,000. The staff speaker noted that CDBG funds sometimes pass through the Department of Commerce but come from the federal government.

Commissioner O'Neal raised a separate question about claim 9814 on page 40 for on-site security at the parking garage and asked whether the charge was monthly. The staff speaker (identified in the transcript as Karen) replied that the charge is monthly and said the expense was budgeted in fiscal year 2026 to be paid from the local marijuana-option tax. The speaker described that use of the local option tax as an initiative by the chief executive to help offset certain community mental-health responses, and clarified the fee is not being paid from parking-garage proceeds.

After the expenditure vote, staff presented a series of budget transfers and small adjustments across departments. Highlights included a $600 transfer to Family Services/Health to cover lodging for employees attending a symposium in Helena; $100 to Animal Services to cover a negative balance; $2,900 to Family Services/Health for a VMSG performance-management software license; $2,800 added to the treasurer's general fund for postage related to delinquent-tax mailings; $500 to the health office general fund for mailing notices of violations through the fiscal year; and $4,150 moved within the Parking Commission to pay an invoice for a second broken window in the parking garage. Other transfers addressed advertising, printed parking permits, professional services, operating supplies and small office expenses.

The committee did not record separate roll-call votes for the individual transfers in the transcript; the items were presented as operating adjustments to close out the fiscal year. With no further questions, the chair called for a motion to adjourn and the meeting concluded.

What happens next: The transcript does not record additional formal action or follow-up directions beyond the single approval vote and the listed transfers; any further approvals or implementation steps are not specified in the meeting record.