The Yucaipa City Council on Oct. 30 reviewed the citys payment processes and voted to accept the October warrant register while establishing an ad-hoc payments and contracts committee to provide additional review and transparency.

Phil White, the citys finance director, presented the item and recommended the council clarify whether staff should pause payment distributions until the full council reviews them. White told the council that pausing all payments would require new procedures because not all disbursements are handled through the warrant register. He described different payment types and operational constraints: credit card payments (p-cards) cannot be stopped once processed; petty cash could be distributed after prior approval; debt service payments and payroll are time-sensitive and require immediate processing; PERS and federal/state withholdings are ACH payments with strict timing considerations.

White also noted the city had invested more than $1 million in Tyler Munis, an integrated financial-management system that includes internal controls. He said staff could demonstrate the systems controls to the council.

The city attorney cautioned the council that failing to make timely debt service or payroll payments could have "severe consequences to the city," including damage to the citys credit rating and exposure to liability, and recommended the council consider excluding certain time-sensitive payments from a general pause.

Councilmembers agreed on the need for greater transparency while protecting operational continuity. Suggestions included continuing to post warrant registers to the city website, producing short-term forecasts of anticipated payments, and sharing contracts entered into so future payments would be visible. The council asked staff to prepare processes that would allow additional council review without disrupting legally required or time-sensitive disbursements.

On a motion to accept the warrant register as presented (with a standing notation that the mayor would recuse himself from sheriff/police-related items), the council voted to approve the warrant run; Councilmember Bob Miller recorded an abstention from that vote. The mayor then stepped out for the sheriff-related portion; councilmembers moved and approved two payments to the sheriff's department (one listed as "LifeScan vouchers," total $3,058.98, and a related maintenance item). The council then voted to form an ad-hoc payments and contracts committee to review forthcoming warrant registers and forecasting; that motion passed with Councilmember Miller abstaining.

The council moved into closed session after completing the public portion of the agenda.

Reporting note: payment amounts, timelines and internal-control descriptions are drawn from the Oct. 30, 2025 Yucaipa City Council meeting transcript and the file attachments referenced during the meeting.