Adoption of the City Council Discretionary Funds Policy

Adopt the City Council Discretionary Funds Policy. (Jared Askelson, Finance Director)

The fiscal year 2025 budget includes $18,000 in the City Council operating budget for Discretionary Funds and this action does not change the amount.  An additional $19,500 has been set aside in contingency for potential future Council action on the Discretionary Funds amount.

During the FY2025 City Manager's Recommended Budget presentation on April 8, 2024, City Council discussed a potential increase to Discretionary Funds from $18,000 to $37,500.  A separate work session was requested to review the governing documents and comparative data from other municipalities to help establish the appropriate amount and usage of Discretionary Funds.  The FY2025 Tentative budget adopted on May 20 included the potential $19,500 increase set aside in contingency for potential Council action following this work session. 

On June 3, 2024, a work session was held to discuss the potential change in amount along with comparative information from other cities and current guidance on the appropriate uses of Discretionary Funds.  Discussion on the amounts will continue in six months time, however, a Council adopted policy on the appropriate use of funds was identified as a more pressing need.

The guidance for the appropriate use of City Council Discretionary Funds has been the Goodyear Council Resource Guide.  This document was created to give guidance on the appropriate uses based on past practice, but technically does not govern the use of Discretionary Funds.  This action will create a Council adopted governing policy that identifies the eligible and ineligible uses and gives direction on the appropriate procedures to follow when using Discretionary Funds.