Expenditure report: city slightly under the 25% benchmark for first quarter

Chris Snead presented the expenditure side of the FY2010 first-quarter report and said that, overall, "the information I'm going to provide to you today shows that we're slightly below that," referring to the 25% benchmark for the first quarter. Snead said the city has expended about 24% of the adopted $226 million budget, with personal services and operating expenses generally tracking as expected.

She noted transfers to other funds were at 11% versus a historical 17% because capital transfers were deferred, and that capital outlay remained low because year-end appropriations were frozen. Department notes included a nearly fully staffed assessor's office and timing-related lower spending in public safety (academy timing), which may realign in future quarters. Councilors asked about fuel and utilities; Snead said fuel is covered under a fixed contract for the year and utilities budgets were increased to account for anticipated rate changes.