Members praise position pool and ask for clearer feedback when requests are reduced

During the FY2027 budget discussion, committee member Rob Reneau asked whether the position-pool instituted this year had produced measurable benefits. Heather McCord replied that from the finance and budget perspective "it's been... very good," and said the pool had accumulated "over a half a million dollars" that could be used midyear rather than waiting until the end of the fiscal year. She promised a more detailed update at the July committee meeting.

Committee member Danny Phelan asked that when budget requests are not funded at full levels staff provide departments and elected offices with explanations and an opportunity to respond. Phelan said he had already raised the request with staff and reiterated it publicly to ensure transparency in the budget process.

Rob Reneau also urged the organization to continue reassessing positions lost to attrition or through promotion before automatically filling them, saying that re-evaluation can reveal whether positions are still needed.

The committee took note of these process requests and scheduled a fuller position-pool update for July. The meeting then moved to public comment and adjourned.