Finance director outlines $2.6 million in expense rollovers in first reading of 2026 budget amendment

The city held the first reading of ordinance 2,841 at the June 22 council meeting, a 2026 budget amendment Finance Director Kristen Reed said was intended to reconcile differences between estimated and actual beginning fund balances.

Reed told the council the difference between estimated and actual beginning fund balances was almost $2.4 million, largely reflecting projects that were estimated to finish by year end but did not. The ordinance moves those rollovers forward, producing a revenue increase of about $1.4 million (mainly grant rollovers) and an expense increase of roughly $2.6 million, leaving an ending fund balance increase of just over $1.0 million.

Why it matters: Reed highlighted two staffing adjustments contained in the amendment: increasing a media-services technician from 0.5 FTE to 1.1 FTE and adding a temporary 0.5 FTE administrative specialist in finance to support implementation of new financial software. Reed said most items in the amendment had already been visible in the consent agenda but flagged the FTE changes for council review.

What happened next: The ordinance was read for the first time; Reed answered council questions and the council took no final action at the meeting (this was a first reading).

Context: Reed said the detailed rollovers are shown in the ordinance’s chart and that the net effect is an increase to the ending fund balance after accounting for the rollovers. Council may take up the second reading at a subsequent meeting.