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Staff set software-maintenance at $15,000 and flagged stormwater and invoice timing as budget risks
Summary
City staff informally agreed to set the software-maintenance line at $15,000, left uniforms unchanged, recommended trimming construction-services allocations, and warned that delayed sanitation and stormwater invoices could force a budget amendment.
City staff reviewed departmental budget lines, agreed informally to set software maintenance at $15,000 and flagged timing issues with stormwater and sanitary-disposal invoices that could prompt a budget amendment.
The discussion centered on several near-term adjustments and accounting complications. A staff member said the advertising ‘‘screen vision’’ expense had risen but would likely remain at or under $10,000 and that main advertising was set at $10,000. On software costs the group ‘‘agreed to take it to 15,000,’’ preferring to handle larger discrepancies with budget transfers rather than rely on the larger quoted amount that had appeared in the printout.
Staff emphasized limited discretionary funds after multiple emergency expenses this year. One participant said they were ‘‘teetering on a budget amendment’’ and asked colleagues to recheck forecasts and actuals before June 30. Several invoices for sanitary disposal had been delayed; staff described submitting multiple invoices at once and noted that a fixed-asset credit tied to the BFI transfer station ‘‘is throwing everything off,’’ which makes accounts show as overbudget even when credits exist.
Participants also clarified fund structure: stormwater items (referred to by internal account numbers) sit in a separate enterprise fund and may not appear on the same departmental printouts, so staff recommended pulling reports by department and fund. To avoid misstated totals, staff advised procurement and finance to coordinate on encumbrances so both offices see the same outstanding obligations.
On line-item choices, the group left uniforms and towel allowances unchanged because staffing levels remain variable. For construction services (account referenced as 54570), staff proposed reducing the allocation to $10,000, though another participant suggested $15,000 given a roughly $12,000 spend in 2023–24. A possible $80,000 landfill estimate was discussed as an item for follow-up; the exact status and source of that figure were not specified in the meeting.
Staff said they would run a new forecast and expected to revisit numbers in the coming weeks; they noted that additional adjustments might be made in April when delayed invoices post. The session ended with staff agreeing to follow up on forecasts, encumbrances and project priorities before the next meeting.
