Auburn City Council will review financial projections tonight showing the city’s general fund balance below its policy minimum, with rising health insurance costs expected to put additional pressure on the current budget.
The Nov. 5 meeting begins at 5 p.m. at Memorial City Hall, 24 South St. Council members will also consider a formal utility billing policy, additional work to identify water service line materials and a state cybersecurity agreement.
Financial update highlights reserve and cash pressures
Comptroller Mary Beth Leeson is scheduled to present a quarterly budget update. Financial presentations prepared for the meeting also review the fiscal year that ended June 30.
The year-end presentation reports a general fund balance of approximately $2.1 million, or 4.1%. The city’s policy requires a minimum of 6%, which the presentation puts at approximately $3.09 million for 2026-27.
The current budget includes adding approximately $1.77 million to fund balance, which would bring it above the minimum. However, staff expects to use some fund balance to cover health insurance increases beyond budgeted amounts and potentially labor contract adjustments.
The first-quarter update, covering the period through Sept. 30, anticipates a budget amendment once the full impact of the January 2027 health insurance renewal is known.
Staff otherwise expects general fund revenue to meet budget projections, with expenses also expected to meet budget except for health insurance and any labor contract adjustments.
Other city funds face cash pressures.
The landfill fund used an additional $417,206 in cash during 2025-26, despite plans to begin rebuilding cash balances. The presentation attributes its budget performance to additional trash disposal, fuel and repair expenses.
The power utility fund also faces cash constraints. Its current-year projections include $888,188 in principal debt payments and indicate that additional cash from other funds will be needed to cover those payments.
Utility billing policy would formalize oversight
Council members will consider a municipal utility billing policy recommended by the city’s external auditors.
The proposal establishes procedures for checking meter readings, generating bills, documenting adjustments and monitoring collections. Staff says the goal is to ensure billing is complete and accurate while improving oversight of revenue and budget performance.
Under the proposed policy, unusual readings—including zero consumption, unusually high usage and significant changes from historical patterns—would be investigated before bills are generated.
Accounts receiving estimated bills for more than three consecutive months would require notification to the comptroller or assistant comptroller. Billing adjustments exceeding $500 would require approval from both the municipal utilities director and comptroller.
The proposal also outlines procedures for meter maintenance, delinquent accounts and payment arrangements. Staff lists no fiscal impact associated with adopting the policy.
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Lead service line inventory work could expand
A proposed $40,629 supplemental agreement with Geocove would add predictive modeling to Auburn’s water service line inventory work.
Municipal Utilities Director Seth Jensen estimates the tool could help identify the materials of approximately 1,000 of the city’s 4,000 remaining service lines classified as unknown. Staff is working toward a November 2027 inventory completion deadline.
The additional work would increase Geocove’s contract from $50,000 to $90,629. Staff says the entire supplemental cost is reimbursable through an existing state Department of Health grant, with no cost to the city water fund.
State cybersecurity agreement also on agenda
Council will also consider a three-year agreement with state agencies for cybersecurity assessment and monitoring services at no cost to the city.
The program would help identify vulnerabilities in publicly accessible city technology, including servers, domains and cloud services. Auburn would share cybersecurity data generated by the service with the New York Security Operations Center and remain responsible for responding to identified issues.
The meeting includes an opportunity for public comment and will be livestreamed through the city’s Channel A webpage.
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