Commission recommends semiannual bond reports, orders capital project closeout reports online

The Charter Review Commission took steps to increase public visibility into bond spending and capital projects, voting to recommend a policy for semiannual reporting and approving charter language requiring a public online reporting system and final project closeout reports.

Commission member Melody told the commission she could not quickly determine how much had been spent on projects approved by voters and that ‘‘80% of the bond money that’s been issued has not been spent’’ in some bond cycles, leaving questions about delivery on voter promises. Finance staff said project‑level data exists in internal systems and that the city provides dashboards by project, but the dashboard is organized by project not by bond/funding source — making it harder for residents to see what the voters approved and what has been completed.

The commission voted to recommend a council policy establishing a regular cadence (the motion asked for semiannual reporting) that would present top‑line summaries of each voted bond and a status/closeout summary for each approved project, and passed a separate motion to add a charter section requiring the city to maintain a publicly accessible online reporting system for major capital projects. The new charter language calls for final closeout reports to be maintained publicly for at least five years so completed projects remain in the public record.

Staff noted some requested fields (original authorized budget, multiple funding sources and final reconciliations) are technically available but not all are currently published in a single consolidated public view; staff said creating a single consolidated closeout report will require systems work but is feasible. The commission approved the general requirement and directed staff to recommend the specific set of closeout fields and a phased implementation plan.