Council approves first fiscal-year budget amendment to fund capital projects

At its July 7 meeting, the Saratoga Springs City Council approved the first budget amendment for the fiscal year after a brief presentation and a public hearing with no public testimony.

A staff presenter described three capital projects covered by the amendment: an adjustment to existing funding for the Rhodes capital project and appropriations to initiate two secondary water capital projects, noting that costs sometimes change once projects begin and the amendment is intended to finish out funding and begin work. "This is the first budget amendment for this fiscal year…The project's already been working on. This is basically to help us finish out the funding for that project," the staff presenter said.

The mayor pro tem opened the public hearing, heard no comments and closed it. A council member moved to approve the amendment and another seconded; council members who responded on the voice vote indicated approval. The transcript cites the resolution number as R26-47 in one segment and later refers to R26-42 when the motion was made; the transcript does not supply a formal numeric roll-call tally in the supplied segments.

Why it matters: the amendment allows the city to adjust and continue capital work that staff said has experienced cost shifts and to begin two secondary water projects.

Next steps: staff will implement the amended budget appropriations for the named capital projects and will provide further details to the council and public as projects proceed.

Speakers quoted include the unnamed staff presenter and the mayor pro tem.