Stories indexed with the term ‘budget adjustment’

A routine fiscal-year-end budget adjustment for the Ann Arbor DDA has been given approval by the Ann Arbor city council. The council’s action came at its June 16, 2014 meeting.

The DDA board had approved the adjustment at its June 4, 2014 meeting. The main part of the adjustment is a $1.6 million payment made for the First & Washington parking garage, which is part of the City Apartments project. The amount was budgeted by the DDA for last year, but not paid until this year.

The rest of the adjustment is attributable to expenditures out of the DDA’s housing fund – $500,000 of it to support Ann Arbor Housing Commission projects. The remaining $37,500 went to support a countywide housing … [Full Story]

As the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s new Blake Transit Center nears completion, the AAATA board has bumped the roughly $8.1 million construction budget upwards by $125,000 to cover costs associated with “extraordinary winter weather and unforeseen site conditions discovered during excavation,” which delayed completion of the project by six months. Of the additional amount, $55,000 is a contingency.

The money to cover the additional cost will be drawn from federal funds. According to the AAATA, the increase will not impact existing services.

The increase to the BTC construction budget was approved in AAATA board action taken at its May 15, 2014 meeting.

According to a staff memo in the board meeting information packet, the original project budget was $8,129,988, which included a contingency of 4.5% … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor city council has balked at a request to amend its current fiscal year budget to make a $280,000 allocation toward a downtown light pole replacement project that would replace 81 poles. The resolution failed on a 7-4 vote, because eight votes were needed for approval.

The $280,000 needed to be allocated from the general fund to the field operation’s unit FY 2014 street lighting budget. And as a budget amendment, the resolution needed eight votes under … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor District Library board authorized a $40,000 adjustment to AADL’s 2013-14 budget to cover costs of repairs and testing of the downtown library roof. The action took place at the board’s Oct. 21, 2013 meeting on a unanimous vote.

The adjustment transfers $40,000 from the library’s fund balance to the repair and maintenance line item. According to the most recent financial report, the library had a fund balance of $8.03 million as of Sept. 30, 2013. The line item for repairs and maintenance that was approved as part of the 2013-14 was $302,000 for the entire fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2013. The board approved the budget at its May 6, 2013 meeting. [.pdf of ... [Full Story]

A .0031 error in the specification of the rate of the FY 2014 tax levy for the city’s park maintenance and capital improvements millage was corrected in action taken by the Ann Arbor city council at its June 17, 2013 meeting. The FY 2014 fiscal year begins on July 1.

The millage rate that was listed in the FY 2014 budget resolution – approved by the council at its May 20, 2013 meeting – was 1.0969 mills. The park maintenance and capital improvements millage should have been listed as 1.10 mills. The corresponding correction from the total millage rate was from 16.4470 to 16.4501 mills. Measured in dollars, the correction is estimated to bring in an additional $14,460 in revenue.

This … [Full Story]

The annual year-end budget adjustment has been approved by the Ann Arbor city council. The changes to the FY 2013 budget totaled $567,000 for the general fund, much of which stemmed from additional expenses incurred by the 15th District Court. [.pdf of proposed amendments]

The 15th District Court’s portion of that adjustment stemmed from $112,000 in salary increases based on an interest in retaining employees, $203,000 due to a “catch up” payment to the law firm that provides indigent representation, and a back-bill for security from Washtenaw County for two fiscal years for $110,000.

Related to the FY 2013 budget adjustment to account for 15th District Court indigent representation were two other agenda items regarding the law firm that provides that … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (Jan. 9, 2013): The first meeting of the year for the DDA’s board featured a packed agenda – with items ranging from budget adjustments to the adoption of recommendations on the Connecting William Street project. Also voted on by the board were grants to the nonprofit Dawn Farm, an allocation of funds for the DDA’s energy grant program, and two monthly parking permits for The Varsity residential development.

The budget adjustments to FY 2013 were made in order to account for roughly $2.6 million in construction costs associated with the Library Lane underground parking garage. They had been allocated in the previous year’s budget, but not paid last year – because the completion of the construction extended into this fiscal year.

The FY 2012 audit report, which the board also approved at its Jan. 9 meeting, shows that for FY 2012, the DDA spent about $2.5 million less than anticipated for that year – because the construction invoices were not all submitted to the DDA by the time books closed for the year.

The result of those changes leaves a budget with $22,237,924 in revenues against $26,339,555 in expenses for the year – which translates to a planned use of the DDA’s fund balance reserve of $4,101,632. That’s about half of the existing fund balance.

Not a part of the revised budget was the approval of two allocations made by the board – one of $50,000 in connection with the DDA’s existing energy grant program, and another of $150,000 for a grant to Dawn Farm, a nonprofit offering both residential and out-patient services supporting recovery for alcoholics and drug addicts. The energy allocation will essentially attempt to leverage energy audits completed through the DDA’s program for use in the Michigan Saves program, which offers low-interest financing for energy improvements.

The board also approved recommendations to be forwarded to the city council on the future redevelopment of five city-owned sites currently used for parking. The project, which is now named Connecting William Street (CWS), began with an April 4, 2011 city council resolution that directed the DDA to seek “robust public input” from experts, stakeholders and residents to develop a plan for those parcels.

In connection with the parcels in that area, the board also adopted a policy on possible grants from the DDA’s tax increment finance (TIF) funds to support development of the CWS properties. The policy makes clear that the DDA would not forgo its TIF capture on any property – but the amount of the grant would be calculated based on TIF revenue.

Also in connection with the CWS project, the board heard remarks during public commentary from representatives of the city’s park advisory commission as well as the State Street Area Association. The board also invited Doug Kelbaugh, a University of Michigan professor of architecture and urban planning, to share his thoughts on parks versus plazas – and why he thinks the site on top of the Library Lane parking garage is more likely to succeed as a plaza instead of a park. [Full Story]

Roughly $2.6 million in changes to the current year’s budget (FY 2013) have been approved by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board. They stem primarily from costs that had been budgeted for the previous year for construction of the Library Lane underground parking garage, but not paid for. The vote on the amended budget came at the board’s Jan. 9, 2013 meeting.

The result of those changes leaves a budget with $22,237,924 in revenues against $26,339,555 in expenses for the year – which translates to a planned use of the DDA’s fund balance reserve of $4,101,632. That’s about half of the existing fund balance. The FY 2013 budget projects a fund balance at the end of FY 2013, on June … [Full Story]

Washtenaw County commissioners authorized a $1,263,994 mid-year adjustment to its 2012 general fund budget, in a unanimous vote taken at the board’s Aug. 1, 2012 meeting. The final vote followed a second-quarter financial update from the county administration. It brings the 2012 general fund budget to $101,162,770.

The adjustment includes equal increases in revenues and expenditures. The additional revenues come from higher-than-projected property tax revenues of $2,417,690. The main increase in expenditures comes from an increase in personnel costs over the budgeted amount for 2012. The original budget had anticipated labor savings of $2,481,008 – but the bulk of those reductions have not yet materialized. The county did realize more than $1 million in reduced labor costs due to 118 retirements in 2011. However, that savings has … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (June 18, 2012): Library trustees spent part of Monday’s meeting reviewing two recent public forums on the future of AADL’s downtown building on South Fifth Avenue. No details were discussed about whether the board plans to seek a millage to fund a major renovation or rebuilding of the structure, and no one showed up for public commentary to address the topic.

Less than two months remain until an Aug. 14 deadline to put a millage proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot. At this point, only one more board meeting is scheduled before then – on July 16.

A third and final public forum on the downtown library is set for Wednesday, June 20 from 7-8:45 p.m. in the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown building, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

Videos of the previous two forums are posted on the library’s website, along with additional information about the building. For Chronicle coverage of the June 9 forum, see: “AADL Board: What’s Your Library Vision?”

In other action during Monday’s meeting, the board voted to make minor year-end adjustments to the budget for fiscal year 2011-12 budget, which wraps up on June 30. In a separate financial report, associate director Ken Nieman told the board that tax tribunal decisions are affecting revenues more than anticipated, but that higher-than-expected revenues in other areas are offsetting that impact.

The board also got an update on the kickoff of AADL’s popular summer game, which took place Sunday night at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park. The library is sponsoring Sunday Kids Rock concerts at TOP.

The meeting ended with highlights of a letter of recognition from Richard Cochran, president of the Michigan Library Association, who praised AADL director Josie Parker’s service with MLA. Parker served as MLA president from 2007-2008 and was chair of the MLA legislative committee from 2010-2012. “Josie Parker is a visionary among her peers,” Cochran wrote. “She is a vocal advocate of library services and is extremely well-respected in the library community and by legislators.” [Full Story]

At its June 18, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council amended the budget for its current fiscal year to bring actual expenditures in line with budgeted amounts – so that the city’s various funds do not show an excess in expenditures over budgeted amounts for the year. The amendments are necessary in order to conform with Act 621 of 1978 (Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act).

The council’s action bumped the general fund expense budget from $79,642,485 to $80,993,946 – an increase of $1,351,461. According to the memo accompanying the budget resolution, city staff are still projecting that a little less than $0.5 million of fund balance will need to be used for the year, due to other offsetting expenses.

For the general fund, some … [Full Story]

At its June 18, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board made adjustments to the previously approved 2011-12 budget, for the year ending June 30, 2012. This is a standard action at the end of the fiscal year.

A total of $44,000 was transferred to the line item for supplies, coming from the following line items: capital outlays ($24,000), software ($10,000), communications ($5,000), and repairs ($5,000). The supplies line item covers computer and IT products that cost less than $1,000. Items higher than $1,000 are paid for out of the capital outlays line item.

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown library at 343 S. Fifth Ave. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: … [Full Story]

At its June 6, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Authority board authorized amendments to its previously approved fiscal year FY 2012 budget (ending in three weeks, on June 30), which is an annual exercise undertaken to ensure that the actual expenses incurred are allowed for in the budget.

An example of a major difference between the already authorized budget and the amended version is an adjustment upward from $1,017,847 – for capital construction costs from the TIF fund – to $3,480,701. Those costs are construction invoices related to the new South Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, which is expected to open in mid-July. The budget adjustments are conservative, in that it assumes the parking garage will be completed and invoices … [Full Story]