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HomeMy WebLinkAbout22706 1 ORDINANCE NO. 22,706 2 3 AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR AND TO ADOPT THE 2026 4 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS, FOR THE 5 PERIOD BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2026, AND ENDING DECEMBER 31, 6 2026; TO APPROPRIATE RESOURCES AND USES FOR EVERY 7 EXPENDITURE ITEM AND OPERATING FUND; AND FOR OTHER 8 PURPOSES. 9 10 WHEREAS, Little Rock, Ark., Rev. Code § 2-214 (1988), as amended, mandates that the Board of 11 Directors adopts a budget for the ensuing fiscal year by not later than December 30th;and, 12 WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City Manager have fulfilled the requirements of Little Rock, Ark., 13 Rev.Code §2-212(1988),and Little Rock,Ark.,Ordinance No. 19,761 (June 12,2007),and submitted for 14 consideration of the Board of Directors a proposed budget and such other explanatory information as 15 requested by the Board; and, 16 WHEREAS,the Board of Directors has reviewed the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget as presented 17 by the Mayor and the City Manager and is of the opinion that based upon the financial information presented 18 to the Board,the following constitutes an appropriate determination of anticipated revenues,expenditures, 19 and expenses for Fiscal Year 2026, and should be adopted as the 2026 Budget for the City of Little Rock, 20 Arkansas. 21 NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 22 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 23 Section 1. This ordinance shall be known as the FY2026 Budget Ordinance of the City of Little Rock, 24 Arkansas, for the twelve (12)-month period beginning January 1, 2026, and ending December 31, 2026, 25 reflecting estimated resources and uses as set forth below. 26 Section 2. All resources identified within this ordinance herein are estimated and subject to change, 27 and all appropriation uses identified within this ordinance are calculated upon available resources and are 28 also subject to change. 29 Section 3. Definitions. For purposes of this ordinance, the following terms shall have the following 30 meanings: 31 (A) Board of Directors means the Mayor and members of the Board of Directors of the City of Little 32 Rock. Arkansas. 33 (B) City Clerk means the City Clerk,or designated representative,of the City,or if no one is officially (Page 1 of 8] 1 serving in the position,the Acting City Clerk,or designated representative. 2 (C) City Manager means the City Manager, or designated representative, of the City, or if no one is 3 officially serving in the position, the Acting City Manager, or designated representative, which 4 may include an Acting Assistant City Manager. 5 (D) Chief Financial Officer means the Chief Finance Officer and Treasurer, or designated 6 representative, for the City, or if no one is serving in the position, the Acting Chief Financial 7 Officer and Treasurer. 8 (E) Expenditures means decreases in net financial resources under the current financial resources 9 measurement focus and pertains to payment of normal operating payments and encumbrances. 10 (F) Expenses means the cost of doing business in a proprietary organization and can be either outflows 11 or the using up of assets - cost expiration - such as the depreciation of fixed assets. Within the 12 context of this budget ordinance, "proprietary organization," or"proprietary fund"refers only to a 13 method of accounting and is not used as any reference to whether the enterprise is conducted in a 14 governmental or proprietary manner, as that term is understood in Arkansas State Law. All 15 enterprises referred to in this ordinance shall be operated by the City in its governmental capacity. 16 (G) Fund Balance means the difference between assets plus deferred outflows of resources and 17 liabilities plus deferred inflows of resources reported in the governmental fund and represents the 18 excess of revenues or expenditures that has accumulated since the inception of the fund. 19 (H) Revenue(s) means: 20 (i) Increases in the net current assets of a Governmental Fund Type from other than 21 expenditure refunds and residual equity transfers, but does not include any general long- 22 term debt proceeds and operating transfers in - which are classified as "other financing 23 sources," unless these constitute a reservation of fund balances for encumbrances carried 24 forward from a prior year and the expenditure for which the fund balance was created has 25 also been carried forward;or, 26 (ii) Increases in the net position of a Proprietary Fund Type from other than expense refunds, 27 capital contributions and residual equity transfers, but does not include operating transfer 28 in which are classified separately from revenues, unless these constitute a reservation of 29 fund balances for encumbrances carried forward from a prior year and the expense for 30 which the fund balance was created has also been carried forward. 31 Section 4. Compliance with Existing Laws, Statutes and Ordinances. This ordinance has been 32 prepared in accordance with various Arkansas Statutes that deal with Municipal Fiscal Reporting 33 Requirements,the Financial Reporting Standards/or the City of Little Rock,Arkansas, as approved in Little 34 Rock,Ark., Rev. Code §§ 2-245 to 260.8 ( 1988), and the standards of the Government Finance Officers [Page 2 of 81 1 Association as authorized in Little Rock,Ark., Resolution No. 16,820(October 6,2025). 2 Section 5. Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. The following respective amount for every resource and 3 appropriate use is herein set forth as follows: 4 (A)APPROPRIATE OPERATING RESOURCES: General Fund $271,999,104 5 Street Fund 27,106,700 6 Waste Disposal Fund 27,435,300 Parking Garage Fund 2,954,816 7 Fleet Services Fund 18,220,453 8 Vehicle Storage Facility Fund 2,673,200 TOTAL RESOURCES $350,389,573 9 (B) APPROPRIATE OPERATING USES: 10 General Fund Departments Executive Administration $33,274,294 11 Board of Directors 410,199 12 Community Programs 301,784 City Attorney 3,067,538 13 Municipal Court-Criminal 1,539,015 14 Municipal Court- Traffic 1,463,550 Municipal Court- Environmental 640,330 15 Finance 5,503,712 16 Human Resources 3,242,717 Information Technology 7,042,011 17 Planning& Development 3,698,692 18 Housing&Neighborhood Programs 8,990,016 Public Works 1,120,294 19 Parks and Recreation 11,927,050 20 River Market 1,164,852 21 Golf 1,808,479 Fitness and Aquatics 945,008 22 Zoo 7,725,563 23 Fire 68,671,344 Police 98,880,495 24 911 Emergency Communications 5,227,671 25 Debt Service 5,550,644 Transfer to Street Fund 194,000 26 Children,Youth&Families, Special Projects,Grant Match 11,367,482 Contingency 1,346,738 Vacancy Allocation(Authorized Unfilled Positions) (13,104,374) 27 TOTAL GENERAL FUND $271,999,104 Street Fund 27,106,700 28 Waste Disposal Fund 27,435,300 Parking Garages Fund 1,387,330 29 Fleet Services Fund 18,220,453 Vehicle Storage Facility Fund 2,550,105 30 TOTAL USES $348,698,992 [Page 3 of 81 1 Section 6. Outside Agency Contributions. The appropriation for operating uses in Section 5 above 2 includes the following amounts for various entities with which the City contracts for public services, or 3 in which the City has an ownership interest, include the following: 4 A. Rock Region Metro(Central Arkansas Transit $9,854,118 Authority) B. Arkansas Arts Center 4,000,000 5 C. Pulaski County Regional Detention Center 3,600,000 D. Museum of Discovery 400,000 6 E. Downtown Partnership 300,000 F. Metroplan 186,384 7 G. PAGIS 153,850 H. Oakland Fraternal Cemetery 100,000 8 I. Pulaski County Health Unit 54,493 J. CHI St. Vincent 25,381 9 K. City Beautiful 2,500 TOTAL OUTSIDE AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS $18,676,726 10 11 Section 7.PILOT Payments. In accordance with Act 497 of 1981, Act 713 of 1991, and Act 1629 of 12 2001, of the Arkansas General Assembly,the Director of Finance shall make appropriate payments to the 13 Little Rock School District, the Pulaski County Special School District, and Pulaski County from any 14 affected payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) made to the City by a company for which Act 9 Industrial 15 Development Bonds was issued; it is estimated that the gross amount of these resources for FY2026 is One 16 Million, Three Hundred Thirty-Five Thousand, Sixty-One Dollars($1,335,061.00). 17 Section 8. Appropriation for the Compensation of Elected Officials. This Budget contains a 18 personnel appropriation for the Mayor and the Members of the Board of Directors as follows: 19 A. Annual compensation of the Mayor is Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), and such 20 other amounts as may from time-to-time be approved during the time this ordinance is effective; 21 and, 22 B. Annual compensation for each member of the Board of Directors is Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars 23 ($25,000.00); and, 24 C. In addition to these amounts, there are expenditures noted within this ordinance which document 25 the amounts paid for Mayor and Board member expenses and benefits. 26 Section 9.Definition of Significant Variance. 27 A. To prepare this budget, it has been necessary to estimate the amount of revenue or other resources 28 that the City will have available to it in Fiscal Year 2026, and the cost of the various expenditures 29 and expenses that the City will incur during this period. 30 B. To assure the efficient and responsible operation of the City, and the maintenance of its various 31 programs and facilities, it is important for the Board of Directors to be timely advised of a [Page 4 of 81 1 significant variance in revenues or expenditures during the fiscal year. Further, it is important for 2 the Board of Directors, the City Manager and the Chief Financial Officer, to agree as to what 3 constitutes a"significant variance"of these items. 4 C. It is further necessary to have a definition of"significant variance" that can be reviewed on an 5 annual basis as a part of the City budget process,and which can best reflect the point at which the 6 Board of Directors believes it should be notified that such a change of circumstances has occurred 7 in relation to any expenditure, expense,fund balance,revenue, or resource. 8 D. For Fiscal Year 2026, a "significant variance" shall be deemed to have occurred if during any 9 reporting period, there has been an increase or decrease from the budgeted amount for the period 10 covered by Monthly Financial Report that is: 11 i. Greater than 5%of the amount anticipated for that item for the period covered; and, 12 ii. More than Fifty Thousand Dollars($50,000.00)from the amount anticipated for that item 13 for the period covered. 14 Section 10. TimeLine for Department of Finance. The timeline for events related to the timely 15 preparation of reports and statements to the Board of Directors for Fiscal Year 2026 is attached as Exhibit 16 A to this Ordinance. 17 Section 11. Severability. In the event any title, subtitle, section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, 18 subparagraph,item,sentence,clause,phrase,or work of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid 19 or unconstitutional,such declaration or adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance 20 which shall remain in full force and effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or 21 unconstitutional was not originally a part of this ordinance. 22 Section 12. Repealer. All ordinances and resolutions, including but not limited to Little Rock, Ark., 23 Ordinance No. 22,568 (December 26, 2024) (the 2025 Budget Ordinance"), and any other ordinances or 24 resolutions that related to financial reporting within the City, are hereby repealed to the extent of such 25 inconsistency. 26 Section 13.Emergency Clause. It is imperative that a Budget Ordinance for the ensuing Fiscal Year 27 and Calendar Year be passed prior to the end of the current Calendar Year in order to assure the continued 28 provision of City services, operations, and facilities; such continuation is essential to the public health, 29 safety and welfare, an emergency is, therefore, declared to exist and this ordinance, shall be in full force 30 and effect on January 1, 2026, and the various City Departments shall operate immediately upon its 31 passage, and for purposes of record keeping and otherwise, as if it were in full force and effect from and 32 after the date of its passage. 33 34 [Page 5 of 81 1 PASSED: December 16,2025 2 ATTEST: APPROVED: 3 • 4 :tat 5 Allison Segars,Ci Nat.rk Frank Scott,Jr.,May�nr 6 APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: 7 9 Thomas M. Carpenter,City Att ney 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 /I 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // [Page 6 of 8] 1 EXHIBIT A 2 FY 2026 BUDGET ORDINANCE FOR THE CITY OF LITTLEROCK,ARKANSAS 3 4 [NOTE: The Board of Directors enacted financial reporting standards for the City at Little Rock, 5 Ark., Rev.Code §§ 2-245 to 260.8(1988). Little Rock,Ark., Rev.Code § 2-255 (1988)requires that as a 6 part of the annual budget process the Board of Directors set a timeline for action by the Department of 7 Finance to assure the timely preparation of financial reports. This timeline is to be adopted upon 8 recommendation of the City Manager after consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and the various 9 financial institutions the City uses.This timeline is to be reviewed each year to assure that it sets reasonable 10 expectations for City Staff, but at the same time, assures the preparation and publication of reports to the 11 Board of Directors as quickly as possible. Reports to the Board of Directors are based upon certain events 12 after the month-end close. The month-end close is defined as the last business day of the calendar month 13 that is two months following the end of the reporting period. The two(2)-month closing period is required 14 to accommodate the schedule for receipt of revenue from the State, County, and utility providers. For 15 FY2026 the calendar of events is as follows: 16 17 CALENDAR OF EVENTS RELATED TO TIMELY PREPARATION OF CITY FINANCIAL 18 WORKING DAY 19 (after the end of the 20 EVENT calendar month) 21 Department notification of deposits submitted to accounting 3 22 City obtains monthly bank statement 1 23 Department processes bank files to produce combined and 24 payroll outstanding check lists 5 25 City obtains monthly investment statement 7 26 Department reconciles book balance and bank statements for all 27 bank accounts 15 28 Department reconciles book balance and investment balances 20 29 Department finalizes and enters all remaining journal entries 23 30 Department reviews and corrects work-to-date 25 31 Department conducts final review of information for reports 27 32 Department processes computer system reports (month-end 33 close) 30 34 Department completes preparation of monthly reports 30 [Page 7 of 81 1 City Manager and Chief Financial Officer distribute monthly report to Board of Directors 2 Chief Financial Officer has monthly report posted in City website following Board distribution 3 City Manager and Chief Financial present financial reports quarterly to Board of Directors.] 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // [Page 8 of 81