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Finance committee approves FY2026 operating budget amendments amid questions about fund balance use
Summary
The committee approved multiple operating budget amendments, including appropriations to police vehicle replacement and housing administration; members asked staff and the city manager to justify tapping unappropriated fund balance and to show why departments cannot absorb costs within existing budgets.
The finance committee approved an amendment package to the FY2026 operating budget on June 22 after extended questioning from council members about the city’s use of unappropriated fund balance and limited discretionary funds.
Council member Cole pressed staff on multiple items funded from reserves, noting the council had repeatedly said discretionary funds were limited. He cited specific requests including roughly a half‑million dollars for police vehicle replacement and outfitting and approximately $185,000 for additional housing administration costs. Cole asked what assurance staff could give that departments had first sought internal savings or postponement rather than drawing on fund balance.
The city manager, who described having held items and asked questions during the budget process, said he had pressed department heads and the finance team for explanations and had instituted more frequent monitoring of appropriations. He said some costs (notably fleet replacement and outfitting) reflected inflation and supply‑chain pressures that caused earlier replacement-cost assumptions to be inadequate. The city manager said item seven arose from year‑end adjustments under council policies and that staff had identified funds in fund balance consistent with policy to meet late-cycle needs.
Several council members said they would continue to exercise oversight and requested assurances that future requests be scrutinized; the committee’s majority approved the amendments without recorded opposition.
Next steps: staff will implement the approved appropriations and the council asked for continued reporting on fund-balance usage and alternatives to drawdowns where feasible.
