Weatherford council approves budget amendment after debate over $500,000 capital set‑aside

The Weatherford City Council voted unanimously to approve an amendment to the fiscal-year 2018 budget that authorizes interdepartmental transfers and the use of dedicated property-tax and sales-tax receipts for a list of maintenance and capital projects.

Assistant Finance Director Kyle Lester told the council the amendment includes previously discussed items totaling $166,349, additional police grant funding and interdepartmental transfers to use a portion of dedicated property-tax receipts for facilities maintenance projects. "Those amount to $166,349," Lester said, and later explained the city expects sales-tax revenues to come in over budget and that staff could replenish the fund at year end.

Councilmember Kevin Cleveland pushed back, arguing many of the items are maintenance rather than true capital and said the council set aside $500,000 as a down payment for long‑term capital purposes such as land acquisition. "To me, when we were negotiating that $500,000, I really saw that as ... saving for capital projects," Cleveland said. He said he preferred not to dip into that set‑aside and asked that the council adopt a clearer policy on what the fund is intended to cover.

Lester and other councilmembers said the difference is partly one of timing. Lester said staff's projections show a sales‑tax overage and that the city could obligate the projects now and then replenish the set‑aside when the excess revenues are received. "We fully believe that we're going to have a significant amount of our sales tax dollars come in far over budget," he said. "At the end of the year, when we get the excess in sales tax ... we can fully replenish the dollars."

After discussion the council voted to approve the amendment and the related bid award items that had been pulled for discussion. Councilmembers asked staff to document and more clearly define the intended purpose of the dedicated fund during the coming budget process so similar confusion does not recur.

What happens next: Staff will return with clearer policy language in the next budget cycle defining which types of projects constitute long‑term capital for the dedicated set‑aside and how the city will treat interim use of sales‑tax overages.