Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

DATE:	March 19, 2009
TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Casey Liebst, Budget Manager
CC:	Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager
RE:	Amendment to the 2009 Budget – General Operating Fund and Transportation Fund

Please place the following item on the City Commission agenda for consideration at their March 24, 2008 meeting:

Conduct public hearing on a proposed amendment to the 2009 City Budget and adopt on first reading Ordinance 8377, amending the 2009 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget, if appropriate.   

Background

The 2009 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget included the 0.20% sales tax for transit and the 0.30% sales tax for infrastructure.  However, the budget was adopted prior to the decision by the City Commission to propose the additional 0.05% sales tax for transit so it was not included in the 2009 budget. 

In order to have budget authority to spend the revenue generated by the new revenue source, the 2009 budget will need to be amended.  Because state law requires sales tax to be deposited into the City’s General Operating Fund before being transferred to other funds, it will be necessary to amend both Fund 001, the General Operating Fund, and Fund 211, the Transportation Fund.   

Process to Amend the Budget

K.S.A. 79-2929a authorizes the governing body of a municipality to amend its adopted current budget provided, any proposed increase in expenditures is “balanced by previously unbudgeted increases in revenue other than ad valorem property taxes.”   

The statute allows the budget to be amended during the year in which such budget is in effect subject to the same publication, notice and public hearing requirements as required by K.S.A. 79-2929, and amendments thereto, for the adoption of the original budget.

Action Item

Staff requests the City Commission conduct a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the 2009 City Budget and adopt on first reading Ordinance 8377, amending the 2009 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget, if appropriate.