The Kenai City Council amended municipal code to provide increased flexibility in the expenditure of funds and management of city budgets. The City Council adopts an annual budget, which creates the legal authority to expand funds of up to a fixed amount and within specific accounts by fund.
Ordinance Sponsor, Councilman James Baisden explained:
“Currently, any budget transfer of $5,000 or more requires council approval. This limit was set in 2005. Administration has put forward numerous resolutions annually based on these limits which are almost always unanimously approved by council. Proposed changes to Kenai Municipal Code would give the administration the ability to move funds between a department account from $5,000 to $10,000. By allowing the city manager the ability to move unlimited funds within a department fund, this reduces legislative items brought to council eliminates the need to repeat budget provisions between capital project accounts for when the budget is unchanged. Council still maintains overall control for the budget.
Baisden wrote that the limits are too restrictive and limiting, requiring several resolutions that inhibit the Administration in their efforts to provide services to the residents of Kenai. He said that limits are important to ensuring the public’s interest is protected but shouldn’t be so restrictive to limit the ability to effectively provide City services.
Currently, any budget transfers of $5,000 or more requires approval through resolution of the City Council except for the line items within capital projects for which revisions may be made in any account within a project but must be reported monthly to the council.
The $5,000 limit was increased in 2005 from $2,500.