An organizational assessment aimed at addressing a projected $20 million budget shortfall for the city narrowly passed during the City Council meeting on February 28, 2026. The assessment received a vote of 4-3, while a risk assessment and an internal control review were approved unanimously. The council allocated $151,000 in funding for all three initiatives.
Mayor Andrea Sorce, Vice-Mayor J.R. Matulac, and Council Members Charles Palmares and Helen-Marie Gordon supported the assessment. In contrast, Council Members Peter Bregenzer, Alexander Matias, and Tonia Lediju opposed it. This vote represents the first step in a two-phase process to address the anticipated deficit in the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget.
The organizational assessment is designed to provide a data-informed framework to assist the city manager and the council in pinpointing areas for cost containment or resource reallocation. Disagreements among council members centered on whether the assessment should be conducted by the city manager or an independent consultant.
Council Member Lediju stated, “It’s been almost a complete year since I’ve asked the city manager to do an assessment. Our city manager, rather than spending money to do this, should have the responsibility to do this work. This is part of a CEO’s function. I am totally not in agreement with this request.”
Council Member Matias echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the council had previously directed City Manager Andrew Murray to conduct the assessment. In response, Murray argued that an independent expert would provide necessary insights across various organizations, noting that this differed from expectations that staff would handle the task.
Vice-Mayor Matulac highlighted the urgency of the situation, indicating that a delay in conducting the assessment could result in inadequate outcomes. “We have to get this right,” he said, expressing his support for the motion due to the pressing timeline. The timeline requires Murray and his team to present a savings plan by the council’s next meeting on March 10, 2026.
While Council Member Lediju expressed no objections to engaging a consultant for the risk assessment and internal control review, the assessments were initially presented as one agenda item but were ultimately voted on separately. The risk assessment aims to conduct a citywide evaluation of departmental risks and develop an audit plan, while the internal control review will examine overtime usage and its alignment with operational outcomes.
Funding for the assessments is proposed to come from a PCB contamination class action lawsuit, with $2.4 million available from a lawsuit against Monsanto Company in which the city participated in 2022. Lediju raised concerns about the appropriateness of using these funds for the assessments.
During the discussion, Assistant City Manager Nalungo Conley explained that the costs for the assessments would total approximately $233,000. The organizational assessment will cost $48,300, the internal control review $119,500, and the risk assessment and audit plan $64,875. The council had previously approved $70,000 for audit services in the budget, necessitating the additional funding.
The funding request was approved by a vote of 5-2, with Matias and Lediju opposing. The council continues to navigate the complexities of addressing the looming budget shortfall while balancing differing opinions on the best approach for conducting assessments.
