Mayor opened the work session and moved to agenda item 3 to review proposed FY2026 December budget amendments ahead of a public hearing set for 12/18/2025. Finance staff said amendments are routine when unrecognized revenues or donations arrive, or when departments need to access year-end reserves.

Rich Morgan, finance, walked the council through the statutory timeline for publishing notice and holding a public hearing, and explained that departments often keep underspent amounts in a tracked reserve (fund 78) so they are available for future projects rather than being ‘‘use it or lose it’’ spending. Morgan said the practice helps departments plan and provides council control over release of those funds.

Council members pressed staff for exact figures on unallocated versus earmarked reserves in fund 78. Bonnie Schroeder, controller, told the council staff would provide line-item numbers and that the finance team could bring updated balances into the meeting. Staff said the combined fund 78 balance totals roughly $3.4 million with an estimated unallocated portion near $604,000, and they will supply precise numbers.

The mayor outlined a requested rollover of rebranding dollars: the rebranding appropriation previously included $350,000; staff said about $93,940.98 has been paid to Hub Limited and about $645,000 has been spent to date on the project toward a roughly $1,000,000 budget, so an additional $40,000 is requested to close final invoices.

Parks director Anne Butler detailed capital priorities in the parks package, saying the $349,000 request would cover large equipment and about $100,000 toward replacing playgrounds at Alameda Park; smaller playground replacements would run about $30,000–$40,000 each. Butler said she hopes to involve private partners to accelerate replacements beyond the one-to-two-per-year cadence.

The council asked clarifying questions about enterprise fund transfers that appear in the public works amendments; Tom Kirkman, public works director, explained that some positions and costs have historically been funded out of various enterprise funds and that reorganization requires moving lines to the correct fund. Kirkman also described a proposed Public Works Business and Administration Director role to centralize budgeting, compliance and long-term planning.

Mayor and council emphasized they want the precise fund balances before formal action. There were no motions or votes recorded at the work session; staff will return with the requested line-item data and the items will be presented for action at upcoming meetings.