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Bridgeton council adopts 35% general-fund reserve policy after split vote
Summary
The Bridgeton City Council voted 5-2 on Sept. 19 to adopt ordinance 24-43, establishing a general-fund unreserved minimum-balance policy of no less than 35% with a city-attorney 'savings clause' to prevent contracts from being invalidated if reserves temporarily fall below the target.
Bridgeton 's City Council on Sept. 19 approved ordinance 24-43, setting a minimum general-fund unreserved balance policy of not less than 35% of annual operating expenditures. The measure passed 5-2 after the city attorney successfully added a savings clause clarifying that contracts or expenditures that temporarily reduce the fund balance would not be rendered invalid.
City Attorney (speaker 4) described the amendment as a safeguard: "D, notwithstanding the establishment of the foregoing policy, no contract or agreement entered by the city or expenditure made or incurred by the city shall be rendered invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by virtue of such agreement or expenditure causing the fund balance to fall below the 35% target," and said the clause would allow the city to make contract representations when needed while expecting the council to restore the balance within three years.
Opponents warned the 35% target could be overly restrictive. Council member Grimmer (speaker 15) said the principle of a healthy reserve is sound but argued the 35% floor well exceeds guidance from the Government Finance Officers Association: "If you look down in lines 22 through 25, the government finance officers association recommends a balance of 16 to 20%. We're exceeding that by 15%, which I think is rather excessive," he said, adding a high hard percentage could limit the city's flexibility to take advantage of one-time opportunities.
Supporters, including City Administrator Boca (speaker 17), urged a conservative posture after years of low reserves: Boca noted when he began in 2015 the city's general-fund reserve was below 10% and said a 25% to 35% range is commonly viewed as healthy. "A healthy city has a minimum of 25%, but I've always said 25 to 35% is good," he said, recommending 35% as a conservative target to improve bond-rating prospects.
Council member Sotel (speaker 16) supported keeping the attorney's amendment, noting it retains council flexibility while providing a policy goal. After discussion the council voted to adopt the ordinance as amended; the clerk recorded the outcome as 5 in favor and 2 opposed. Mayor Hine and staff said the policy can be revisited by future councils and noted it is intended as a financial-management guideline rather than an unchangeable requirement.
Ordinance 24-43 takes effect as a city policy; council members said it will inform budgeting decisions and bond-rating conversations going forward.
