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Council certifies 2025 preliminary budget after trimming a road transfer
Summary
After discussion about road repairs and water-main emergency costs, Birchwood Village council certified the 2025 preliminary budget, removing a $30,000 transfer from the capital account to reduce the published increase and agreeing to re-evaluate road funding before final certification.
Birchwood Village’s City Council certified its 2025 preliminary budget after a line-item change requested during the meeting that reduced an interfund transfer tied to a historic 'road fund.' Councilors discussed road-repair needs, emergency water-main repair costs, reserves and the impact on the overall percentage change published in the proposed levy.
City engineer Marcus Johnson reviewed proposed road work and noted that emergency water-main breaks can be significantly more expensive than routine patching; Marcus advised the council to consider an ongoing plan for incremental repairs rather than one large swing. The packet showed a preliminary total of $100,000 budgeted for highways/streets (a combination of pothole repair and planned road repairs). Councilors debated whether an additional line item should be set aside for water-main emergency repairs and where those costs should be charged.
Councilor Ryan proposed removing a previously budgeted $30,000 interfund transfer from the capital improvement fund (an older road fund) because road funding had been reorganized into the current budget. Removing that transfer reduced the reported budget increase from double-digit to a lower single-digit percentage (the clerk calculated a drop to approximately a 5.58% increase after that change). The council agreed on a compromise adjustment to keep the increase modest; members also asked staff to continue saving for multi-year capital projects.
The council voted to certify the preliminary budget and levy with the adjustment, and staff said the budget and schedule would remain open to further refinement before final certification. Mayor and staff emphasized transparency: Becky said staff would prepare and distribute an email summary explaining expected next steps for bids and construction schedules (notably for the lift station) and to answer resident follow-up questions.
