The Bellevue city administrator has proposed that the city create a capital reserve fund to give it more flexibility in dealing with emergency funding needs.
Typically, the city has about $300,000 in its cash reserve fund, with is used to pay for unexpected items that occur between the time that the city's fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and the end of the calendar year.
This year's cash reserve is 28 percent of Bellevue's $1.2 million operating budget.
At a City Council meeting on Thursday, May 22, City Administrator Tom Blanchard pointed out that Ketchum and Hailey put only about 10 percent of their budgets into cash reserves. Given Bellevue's smaller operating budget, Blanchard suggested the council put away 15 percent of the budget in cash reserves while leaving the other 13 percent in a capital reserve, which could be used to replace broken equipment or match city grants. While the $180,000 in cash reserves should never be touched, the $120,000 in the capital reserve would allow the city more flexibility.
"Right now we don't know what we can and cannot use," said Blachard. "The idea is simply to plan ahead more in order to know how much the council will have to work with in the future."
The council made no decision on the proposal.
In other items covered in the meeting:
· The City Council approved three new speed bumps on Chestnut Lane, Spruce Street and Martin Lane.
· The council approved several signs for city parks that will explain rules such as no alcohol, keeping dogs on a leash and other safety items. There will also be new speed signs placed around the park and the schools to mark the zones as 15 m.p.h. areas.
· The council authorized the signing of a letter of commitment for ARCH Community Land Trust to show that ARCH has local, community support.
