Mariemont council approves preliminary temporary capital appropriations to cover Q1 2024 needs

Council members on Dec. 18 accepted a preliminary temporary capital spending plan that staffs said is intended to cover essential January–March purchases while permanent appropriations are finalized in March.

Fiscal officer Kelly Ranken told the council the exercise was to "determine what projects we're going to commit to at the beginning of the year" and to temporarily appropriate funds so staff can issue purchase orders for early needs. The figures in the draft are based on accounting guidance from the Hamilton County Auditor, Ranken said.

The council discussed several line items that staff recommended holding for Q1: one police vehicle (members agreed to reduce a placeholder for two cars down to one for now to allow an order), HVAC and maintenance-building work that may be scheduled if estimates fit the Q1 window, and a $45,000 allocation for Concourse materials and tools that staff plans to buy and hold until installation is feasible in warmer weather. Council also kept placeholder funds for sidewalk repairs and a Pleasant Street headwall project tied to a pending Dogwood Park grant.

On police vehicles, council members and staff clarified funding sources and outfitting costs; the group noted $30,000 of outfitting had been planned from the alcohol-education-and-enforcement fund and adjusted the net appropriation accordingly. For other equipment purchases, staff emphasized that issuing an order requires a temporary appropriation even when actual spending will occur later.

The council also reviewed carryforward open purchase orders (for example, an electricity vendor and an office-design contract) and reconciled credits and balances so the Q1 document reflects realistic placeholders rather than negative purchase orders.

After walking through the list item by item, a motion to accept the preliminary temporary capital spending request was moved and seconded and passed on roll-call vote. Council members asked staff to publish an updated budget spreadsheet reflecting the corrections before the permanent-improvement meeting in March, when final appropriations will be set.

Votes at a glance: the council recorded roll-call approvals for the preliminary temporary capital spending list and for paying the village bills, including final payments to contractors on the tennis-court project. Several other agenda items were adopted later in the meeting (see "Votes at a glance" below).

Why it matters: Temporarily appropriating funds lets the village place orders and begin Q1 work without waiting for carryover numbers and grant decisions that will be known in March. Staff emphasized that many Q1 items are production- or weather-dependent and that some projects (roofs, large exterior installations) will be deferred until spring.

Votes at a glance: The council recorded roll-call approvals (unanimous unless otherwise noted) for multiple items during the Dec. 18 meeting, including reappointments to boards, a contract with H. Hafner & Sons for brush/gravel/dirt/leaf dumping, a Hamilton County grant application for a water-filling station at the pool (with a 25% local match), authorization to solicit bids for 2024 street repairs (amended to add the chapel parking lot), an emergency ordinance updating village income-tax code language to comply with House Bill 33, and an emergency ordinance updating swimming-pool fees (the council removed a line granting free guest passes with membership). Specific vote tallies were recorded on the transcript roll calls (all recorded votes in the meeting were entered as affirmative by all voting members present). If a given appropriation requires further action after March, staff will return with a revised permanent-improvement recommendation.

Next steps: Staff will circulate corrected spreadsheets and the updated temporary-appropriation document, prepare full estimates for deferred items (e.g., pavilion roof, Chapel parking lot) and present final permanent-appropriation recommendations at a March meeting.