Finance director outlines $2.4 million variance in first 2026 budget amendment

At the June 22 council meeting, Finance Director Kristen Reed presented the first budget amendment of 2026 (Ordinance No. 2841), asking the council to approve technical adjustments to fund balances and temporary staffing changes.

Reed said the city’s actual beginning fund balances exceeded estimates by about $2.4 million, largely because several projects expected to finish in the prior year carried over into the current fiscal year. She told council the amendment shows a revenue increase of roughly $1.4 million (mainly rollovers and grants) and an expense increase of about $2.6 million, resulting in a net increase in the city’s ending fund balance of just over $1.0 million after the amendment.

The ordinance also includes temporary personnel adjustments: increasing a media-services technician position from 0.5 FTE to 1.1 FTE and adding a 0.5 FTE administrative specialist in finance while the city implements new financial software. Reed said most items in the amendment previously appeared on consent.

Why it matters: the amendment reconciles year-start estimates with actuals, adjusts staffing temporarily for software implementation and documents rollovers from grants and incomplete projects, all of which affect the city’s near-term fiscal picture.

Next steps: this was the ordinance’s first reading; council did not vote on final adoption tonight. Staff offered to answer questions and returned for future consideration as part of the normal ordinance process.

Representative quote: "The difference between our estimated beginning fund balances and our actuals was almost $2,400,000," Reed said during the staff report.

There was no final vote on the budget amendment at this meeting.