Bonita City Council approves $5.5 million temporary budget, authorizes 911 contract talks and new revenue accounts

The Bonita City Council on Tuesday approved temporary appropriations of $5,548,968 for fiscal year 2026–27 and took a package of related budget and ordinance actions intended to stabilize dispatch funding and public-safety accounts.

Chair called the meeting to order and, after a staff presentation, the council voted to adopt the temporary appropriations that City Administrator Prince said are needed to keep the city operating until final budget numbers are available in August and September.

Why it matters: the package creates restricted accounts and contracts meant to help the city recoup dispatch and emergency-response costs. City officials said rising dispatch expenses made a negotiated contract with county authorities and clearer revenue accounts a priority.

City Administrator Prince told the council the temporary-appropriations figure and related transfer requests were reviewed by the finance committee and included a recommended increase—by an asterisked item—for utility maintenance and operations to cover equipment purchases missed earlier this year. "We're doing a lot of different projects through there and buying additional pipes and meters," Prince said.

The council authorized the mayor to negotiate and enter a contract with the Craig County E‑911 Governing Authority to continue dispatch services and to take the finalized contract to the county board for approval so the new arrangement can begin by July 1. Chief Johnson described the financial impact: "I don't remember how much it is each month, but it's going to be $75,000 for the year," he said, adding the arrangement should help offset escalating dispatch costs.

Council members also approved several ordinances and emergency clauses creating restricted revenue accounts: - Ordinance 2026‑3895: a revenue account for 9‑1‑1 contract receipts, to be reinvested in dispatch infrastructure and clarified responsibilities for towers, radios and pagers. - Ordinance 2026‑3897: a dispatch services revenue account splitting deposits roughly 50% to dispatch salaries and 50% to the city general fund. - Ordinance 2026‑3896: a separate revenue account for monies billed to insurance companies for fire, rescue and crash responses, limited to fire apparatus, equipment and training.

On public-safety equipment, the council approved a $10,887 payment to Lenslock to maintain the police department's leased body-worn camera system, which includes device replacement, cloud storage, encryption and automated redaction. Chief Johnson said the vendor handles data storage and redactions so department staff do not need to perform time-consuming manual edits: "They also do all of our redactions."

Votes at a glance: - Temporary appropriations for FY 2026–27 ($5,548,968): approved (motion carried) - Budget transfers for FY 2025–26 including $10,000 reallocation for departmental costs: approved (motion carried) - Payment to Lenslock ($10,887): approved (motion carried) - Ordinance 2026‑3894 (retail fireworks and resident discharge permits): approved; emergency clause adopted - Ordinance 2026‑3895 (9‑1‑1 contract revenue account): approved; emergency clause adopted - Ordinance 2026‑3896 (fire/response revenue account): approved; emergency clause adopted - Ordinance 2026‑3897 (dispatch services revenue account, 50/50 split): approved; emergency clause adopted

The council also voted to enter executive session near the end of the meeting to discuss the employment status of Shane Kinole, identified in the record as a probationary firefighter.

What’s next: officials said the mayor will finalize contract details with the Craig County E‑911 Governing Authority and present the completed agreement to the county for approval; the new revenue accounts are now in place for the start of the fiscal year.