Morehead’s City Council passed the second reading of an amendment to the city’s budget for the current fiscal year. The vote was not unanimous, as council members debated the integrity of the current budget or an amendment.
Some questioned the liability that could be caused by amending the budget and altering the amounts listed to spend, while others said the amendment is standard procedure.
Megan Hughes Richmond is the Morehead City Attorney. She said a major function of a budget amendment is to sort out funding that the initial budget wouldn’t account for, like a donation received mid-year. It does not change how much of the city’s own money it plans to spend on different departments, but it instead gets rid of discrepancies.
“We would reappropriate that and technically spend more money in our parks department because it was to go to a playground, so we would take that in and then appropriate it out through parks. And it’s not spending more money, it’s just, we’re spending what we took in,” said Hughes Richmond.
One member of the council, Darrel Littleton, voted against the amended budget, citing a concern for liability and the possibility of city bodies having expended funds before an ordinance is passed. During the meeting, fellow council member Edna Schack said she believes individual spending is up to the different departments of city government, not the council itself.
During the discussion, Hughes Richmond said the listed items in the budget are for transparency, so the city council and residents understand approximately what is being spent where.
“Technically, per KLC, worksheet items are not required but the city does them so you all will know an estimate of where administration intends to spend the money. As long as administration does not go over that number, your budget is in compliance,” said Hughes Richmond.
The second reading of the budget amendment passed on a 5-to-1 vote, and the current budget will be in place until June 30, the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.