Special Board of Aldermen 6-13-2022 Page 10
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
Well | think that was the goal but that’s not what it says. It talks about total expenditures. Furthermore, the State
Statute about spending caps says you can exclude certain things by a simple majority vote of the Aldermen if your
Charter allows it. Our Charter only allows it in those two places where | mentioned - the interest and principle of
bonded debt and capital expenditures. So yes, would it make sense to treat things that have no impact on taxes
differently? It may well make sense. Our Charter does not make that distinction.
Alderman Cathey
Thank you Madam Chair. Mr. Griffin the Capital Project Funds you mentioned one was the Riverwalk Bonding
Project, and the Paving Bonding Project, and I’m sure there are a lot of other project listed in there. To my
recollection or understanding, those bonds have not been sold at least for all the paving project or the Riverwalk
project and in the case of the paving projects, it’s my understanding even though we have the approval for the bonds
you're not going to sell them all right away because it’s a five year project. So how do those numbers get to be
calculated into a 2022 budget when they actually haven’t been — you haven’t gone out and sold the bonds and won't
do so until maybe the 2023 year or maybe even beyond. So how does that get to apply to the 2022 because that sort
of changes the numbers?
John Griffin, CFO/Treasurer/Tax Collector
Madam President and members of the Board. Great question. | struggled with it but you are appropriating the
spending of $37.5 million at that evening or day that you approved it. You’re approving the $21 million. The spending
cap total expenditures, the spending cap language didn’t talk about vintaging, when you are going to spend it. Can
you imagine the calculations and the date of selling bonds, versus using general fund, and it became overly
complicated. So the Comptroller and | with the team basically said let’s put it all. It's an authority to spend.
Corporation Counsel - the plan could be expedited potentially notifying you folks if we wanted to be aggressive with
the paving or the Riverwalk. We wanted to turn a 3-year project into a 2-year. So | relied on the fact that you folks
appropriated the authority to borrow and spend money on the project.
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
| mean is itan even more fundamental problem because you could say that about a lot of things. When departments
are preparing the budget in February for each individual department, there’s another five months of payroll that hasn’t
been expended yet. You’ve got to go by something. If you can’t go by what’s been authorized to be expended, then
you'd have to wait until July 1S‘ to add up all the checks that were actually written and you wouldn’t know what the
spending cap number is until after we were required to have a budget by August 1%. We'd certainly like to have it by
July 1 when the fiscal year starts but if you go by when you actually expend the money, it’s just practically as a
practical matter impossible to know those numbers in time to prepare a budget.
Alderman Cathey
| understand that and it makes sense. As a process and procedure guy, I’m always wanting to protect against future
instances. So my mind goes to what if someone wanted to artificially inflate the numbers and ask for an appropriation
that they may or may not need so we have more room in the spending cap. I’m not saying anyone is doing that, but
I’m just sort of thought exercise. Should we not come up with some way to protect that in the future?
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
You. You vote against that appropriation. That’s why you’re here.
Alderman Cathey
I’m thinking more like - | don’t know — that’s sort of off the top of my head. If we say we need $21 million for
Riverwalk, then we go and sell bonds but we only sell $17.5 because we figure out that’s what we need not $21
million. Well that effects the budget and then obviously the cap because it’s $4 million extra dollars. So | didn’t know.
| don’t know. I’m just trying to think through the accounting principle wise how that works, why it works that way.
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
