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City delays budget workshops; hires former CFO as short‑term consultant to speed cash‑flow review
Summary
City Manager Grayson Path said budget workshops will start Aug. 11; staff brought former CFO Laura Storrs back as a temporary consultant to provide institutional knowledge and speed cash‑flow and audit reconciliation. Council debated optics and contract limits; staff said the engagement is hourly and would not exceed $50,000 without additional council approval.
City Manager Grayson Path told council July 28 that staff need extra time to finalize the FY2026–27 budget materials and moved the budget workshops to Aug. 11, 13 and 14. Path said certified appraisal district values are now in hand, which allowed staff to move from estimates to finalized tax‑revenue scenarios.
To accelerate the cash‑flow and audit reconciliation work, Path said he has engaged former Chief Financial Officer Laura Storrs in a limited professional‑services agreement to advise the budget team. Path described Storrs’ role as read‑only counsel: she will provide historic context, account codes and institutional knowledge to speed alignment between the audit and the proposed budget. Administrative staff clarified the engagement is hourly and would require council approval for expenditures above $50,000.
Several council members questioned the necessity and optics of bringing back a former executive; others supported the limited, read‑only nature of the role to add capacity. Deputy staff said the late receipt of the audit and the loss of institutional knowledge through recent retirements made the engagement a pragmatic temporary step.
Staff aim to provide council a draft 'budget book' roughly a week before the August workshops so council has time to review. Path and deputy staff said they will also prepare a high‑level revenues‑by‑fund summary for council in advance to facilitate discussion at the workshops.
