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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, December 2, 2013 Page 17 therefore did not budget for a surplus, with reasons annually for such a surplus. As an example, those surplus funds were used for storm events, and the City Council was currently poised to spend $317,000 of those reserve funds toward the 2014 budget needs. At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Mr. Miller advised that at this time, that would leave approximately $50,000 based on his current projections. Mr. Miller noted that the City Council — and public— received an annual report in the spring of the following year for the prior year from the auditor with those special circumstances and other information detailed. Mayor Roe noted that an example of one such surplus situation showing up in re- serve levels would be the decertification of a tax increment financing district. Mayor Roe further noted that, the same certified report provided a "Budget" to "Actual" for the previous year, which may not correspond with reserve levels but informing discussions. In referencing the Parks & Recreation Depai tment surplus, and in his former ca- pacity as Chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission, Councilmember Etten noted that this large surplus was intentional by the Department to cut back or de- fer certain costs to increase revenue and bring the reserve closer to the target in conjunction with the Parks Renewal Program in order to accommodate any poten- tial cost overrun or need, keeping those funds in reserve. Councilmember Etten reiterated that this was very intentional budgeting that year to address potential capital expenditures coming up; and should not be seen as extra money, but actu- ally created a lot of sacrifice by department staff to make that happen. Mayor Roe noted that the August 15, 2013 staff memorandum provided to the City Council provided cash level reserves; along with the certified annual finan- cial report, both providing excellent information on those tax-supported funds. At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Mr. Miller confirmed that the City had originally scheduled $275,000 for the CIP, but had reduced that to $225,000. Councilmember McGehee reiterated her concerns in this reduction, as she had stated at previous meetings, cautioning that the CIP fund, only developed two years ago, should continue to be fully-funded, and not be allowed to regress into a situation similar to that of the Parks Improvement Program (PIP). Councilmem- ber McGehee noted that this City Council was striving to set something in motion for future City Councils to maintain; and without that initiative, capital expendi- tures would never get back on track. Councilmember McGehee further reiterated her previous statements from past meetings regarding the need to address mainte- nance for new trails and capital improvements at parks, as well as the new fire sta- tion, in addition to any other costs that will come on line that have yet to be ac- counted for.