PRESENTER: Presenter
Becky Wiatrek, Assistant Director of Finance
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of a budget amendment for the FY 2026 General Fund - City Attorney Department Budget.
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DEPARTMENT: Finance, City Attorney
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: N/A
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A budget amendment is required to cover unbudgeted employee and operating expenses within the City Attorney’s Department.
Increased employee expenses are primarily due to an unbudgeted severance payment and a retirement payout for former team members.
In addition, the departure of two employees has resulted in a greater reliance on outside legal counsel to support pending litigation and provide ongoing legal services, increasing operating expenditures. However, based on projections from earlier in the fiscal year, the City Attorney’s Office was going to require a budget amendment as outside legal costs for FY 2026 were trending higher in comparison to prior years.
A breakdown of the requested budget amendment is provided below.
Increase Employee Expenses: $125,600
As previously stated, these funds will support unbudgeted employee expenditures that have occurred this fiscal year and the payroll costs for the remainder of the fiscal year for the current employees assigned to the City Attorney’s Office
Increase Operating Expenses: $358,566
This amount covers the current balance of outstanding legal services purchase orders, anticipated requisitions for outside legal counsel, and a contingency for additional legal services through the remainder of FY 2026.
ISSUE:
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☒Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
The requested budget amendment will add a total of $484,166 to the FY 2026 budget for the City Attorney’s department within the General Fund.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the approval of this budget amendment.