Troy council sets up $900,000 capital account for new City Hall after debate on reserves

The finance committee and council approved an ordinance establishing a $900,000 capital account for the new City Hall, after staff answered multiple questions about where the money is coming from and whether the transfer would deplete the city’s reserves.

Council members asked whether the figures on the budget schedule (which showed $1,650,000 in one column) represented new revenues or net transfers. A staff member said the appropriation being authorized that night is $900,000 — $750,000 from appropriated fund balance and $150,000 repurposed from an older City Hall capital account — and that the larger number on the schedule reflects interfund transfers in and out.

“That's the revenue side of going into the project…we're funding a total of $900,000,” the staff member said when explaining the accounting entries and the two separate interfund revenue codes.

Council members pressed whether pulling $750,000 from the unassigned fund balance (often called the “rainy day” fund) would meaningfully deplete reserves. A staff member replied they did not have the total fund‑balance number at the podium but believed the city remained above the Office of the State Comptroller’s recommended 10% threshold and offered to provide the exact figure after the meeting.

The staff member also described the intended uses: furniture, workstations, moving costs and IT infrastructure for the new building, not the mechanical elements that were covered in the construction contract. The city will inventory existing furniture to identify surplus and replacement needs before spending the new appropriation.

After discussion, the ordinance and related resolution were adopted; the council recorded the ordinance vote as 5 ayes and 2 nos.