Restating the 2027 budget for new accounting system and rewriting money policies

In plain English

The city switched its financial software from Tyler EDEN to Workday, and Workday uses a different account numbering system. This item would re-state the already-adopted Fiscal Year 2027 budget in the new Workday coding structure, with the same total dollar amounts the Council approved in June. It would also update five Council financial policies and cancel two others that have been folded into the updated ones. Notable policy changes include sending 5% of any General Fund surplus to the Economic Development Trust Fund and lowering the surplus transfer to capital projects from 20% to 15%, and changing the Economic Development Trust Fund's funding to a flat 7% of hotel tax revenue.

The restatement itself changes no spending totals, but the policy rewrites change how future General Fund surpluses are divided, how large the city's reserves must be, and when staff may apply for grants without a separate Council vote.

Key facts

On June 9, 2026, the Council adopted a Citywide annual budget of $494,913,507 and a General Fund budget of $169,962,307 in expenditure appropriations; the restatement keeps those totals unchanged.
Finance launched Workday's financial accounting processes on October 5, 2026; fund codes become "FD" plus three digits (e.g. FD221) and cost centers "CC" plus eight digits (e.g. CC40614225).
Surplus distribution is reallocated: 5% is newly committed to the Economic Development Trust Fund, and the Capital Investment Program transfer drops from 20% to 15%.
The Economic Development Trust Fund would be funded by a flat seven percent of Transient Occupancy Tax (hotel tax) revenue from the General Fund, plus a share of any General Fund surplus, and the annual transfer would require a structurally balanced General Fund budget.
Policies 12.6 (Appropriation Control/Transfers of Appropriations) and 12.14 (General Fund Surplus Policy) would be rescinded and merged into 12.3 and 12.13; the staff report lists no General Fund impact, no budget adjustment and no ongoing expenditure commitment.

Reasons to support

Restating the budget in the new Workday structure keeps Council reporting transparent and matches the system staff now actually use, while total adopted amounts stay exactly as approved.
The Government Finance Officers Association recommends financial policies be monitored, reviewed and updated systematically; merging overlapping policies and replacing "Stabilization Arrangement" with "Reserve" is meant to simplify and clarify the rules.
Updated policies add specifics that were previously vague: exact figures used to calculate the General Fund reserve, a maximum reserve cap, a funding goal for the Unfunded Pension Liability Reserve, and a clear definition of "prior approval" for grant applications.

Reasons to oppose or change it

Shifting 5% of General Fund surplus to the Economic Development Trust Fund comes directly out of the capital projects transfer, which falls from 20% to 15%, meaning less surplus money for street, park and building projects.
Policy 12.8 would no longer require annual Public Trust Fund discussions, only discussions when use of the funds is under active consideration, reducing a regular public checkpoint on those funds.
The Economic Development Trust Fund change would let staff spend up to 10% of unappropriated funds, capped at the $100,000 Council approval limit, before seeking retroactive Council approval, and would let the City Manager reduce the annual transfer to balance the budget.
Replacing the fund codes and account numbers means residents comparing this budget to prior years will be reading a different coding structure, and the outdated vehicle and equipment replacement fund references are being deleted rather than replaced.

Official wording

Restatement of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget and Update of Finance-Related Council Policies (FN) LOCATION: Citywide Motion to: 1) Accept and approve the restatement of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 annual budget to align the chart of accounts with the updated Foundation Data Model (FDM) in the City’s Workday financial system; and 2) Adopt a resolution to: a) Approve updates to Council Policies 12.3 Budgetary Policy, 12.8 Public Trust Fund, 12.13 Operating General Fund Reserve, Unfunded Pension Liability Reserve, and Surplus Policy, 12.15 Economic Development Trust Fund Policy, and 14.3 Grants – Council Review and Approval; and b) Approve the rescission of Council Policies 12.6 Appropriation Control/Transfers of Appropriations, and 12.14 General Fund Surplus Policy, both of which have been merged into the updated policies above.

Official agenda

Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff report (agenda packet, pages 54-83). It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.