Arnold Council Tables Budget as Moritz and Cary Debate Review Process
Arnold City Council members will return to City Hall Monday evening for a special budget meeting after voting unanimously Thursday to delay approval of the city's fiscal year 2027 spending plan.
What began as consideration of Bill No. 2933 developed into a lengthy discussion over how the proposed budget had been presented to council members, when detailed spending information became available, and whether members had been given sufficient opportunity to review it before being asked to vote.
Councilman Brad Cary began the discussion by making a motion to table the budget.
“I'd like to make a motion to table it to the next work session to go in more in depth line by line the items that we were not provided last week at the work session,” Cary said.
Mayor Bill Moritz immediately pointed to the approaching deadline.
“We are actually on a deadline to get this done by the end of this month,” Moritz said, telling the council that additional meetings would need to be scheduled this week if members wanted more time to work through the budget.
Moritz repeatedly pointed to earlier budget discussions and questioned why concerns had not been raised sooner.
Cary responded that the information available at that council meeting was not the same information council members had been given during the previous work session.
“We were not provided a line item. That was provided this week to go over line by line,” Cary said.
That distinction became central to the discussion. Council members were not simply asking for another opportunity to review material they had already received. Cary’s position was that the council did not have sufficient time to review the detailed information council members were being asked to approve. With the city's full budget containing roughly 1,000 lines, that left members reviewing the equivalent of about 83 budget lines for every month of the fiscal year within just a matter of days.
Councilman EJ Fleischmann, who is currently the Mayor Pro Tem as well as the longest serving council member currently on the council, also questioned the process. He stated the way the budget had been handled was different from what council members had experienced in previous years.
“In years past, we've gone through an outline, and we got an overview of it,” Fleischmann said.
The discussion that followed acknowledged that the process had changed. City officials explained that the administration had attempted to simplify the presentation of the budget, in part based on guidance about making public budgets easier to understand.
But the concerns extended beyond the format of the presentation.
Fleischmann pointed to a $140,000 item as an example of information that still needed to be addressed. “I think there's been some questions back and forth, and there's still some misclarification on that,” Fleischmann said, adding that it remained “unclear as to what that $140,000 is.”
Another council member said some members were uncomfortable voting on a proposal when they did not yet understand the total amount involved and wanted additional detail before making that decision.
Later, as Moritz again pointed to the hours already spent reviewing the budget, Cary pushed back on the suggestion that the council's concerns were only surfacing at the last minute.
“Multiple council members messaged and said they had concerns, and here we are,” Cary said.
When Moritz responded that he had not heard those concerns at the previous meetings, Cary again challenged the idea that council members had simply failed to speak up. He said council members had been told the earlier budget sessions were for oversight rather than discussion stating that “We were told we weren't actually supposed to talk at those budget meetings.”
He again noted that the detailed line items were not provided at the previous work session. His response made clear that, from his perspective, the issue was not a failure by council members to take the budget seriously, but that questions remained unresolved when they were being asked to vote.
The disagreement was less about whether Arnold should adopt a budget and more about whether council members had received enough detailed information, early enough in the process, to be comfortable approving the version before them Thursday.
During the discussion, Moritz acknowledged the complexity of the budget himself, saying that even he did not know every line item. That admission added another layer to the council's concerns. While Moritz continued to emphasize the approaching deadline and the amount of time already spent on the budget, council members were being asked to approve a spending plan containing details that even the mayor said he did not fully know line by line.
For council members seeking additional time, the question was not whether the city needed to pass a budget, but whether they should be expected to vote before they were satisfied they understood the spending they were approving.
Ultimately, the seven other council members followed Cary’s lead and voted unanimously to table the budget, giving the council additional time to examine the disputed and unclear items before taking a final vote.
A Budget With Several Major Projects
The city's budget memorandum helps explain the amount of information council members are being asked to consider.
The administration's fiscal year 2027 summary estimates approximately $783,924 in combined net revenue over expenses across the city's four primary operating funds. The proposed budget also contains several large infrastructure, public safety, and operational expenses.
Among the projects highlighted in the administration's summary are approximately $1.75 million for the street overlay program, $1.5 million for construction of Pomme Road Phase 1, $200,000 for initial work on Pomme Road Phase 2, and approximately $2.5 million for major stormwater infrastructure at Muddy Creek.
After working through scheduling conflicts, the council settled on 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24 for a special meeting dedicated to continuing the budget discussion.
Moritz made clear that members should expect a lengthy evening.
“I'm calling the meeting for Monday at six p.m.,” Moritz said. “Pack a lunch. We're gonna be here all night.”
Later, during his mayor's report, Moritz returned to the dispute, saying he wished the discussion had occurred the previous week and telling the council, “We look silly in front of our city.” He said he looked forward to resolving the issue Monday.
But the discussion earlier in the meeting made clear why several council members said those questions were being raised Thursday. Cary said the detailed line-item information they wanted to examine had not been provided at the previous work session, Fleischmann said the budget review process differed from previous years, and other council members identified spending items that still required clarification before they were comfortable voting.
The unanimous decision to table the budget reflected the council's commitment to taxpayers, giving members the additional time needed to understand where public dollars are going, question unclear expenditures, and make a fully informed decision before committing the city to another year of spending.
Veterans Memorial Proposal Draws Lengthy Discussion Over City Property
Council members also heard a proposal for a permanent veterans memorial and “heroes park” on city-owned property at 405 Jeffco Boulevard, currently used as a youth football practice field.
Former Arnold police officer and former state representative Jeff Roorda said the Jefferson County Veterans Tribute has raised nearly $500,000 over the life of the project and has already commissioned a $150,000 bronze kneeling-soldier statue. The organization is now asking the city to consider providing the Jeffco Boulevard property for a memorial complex that could eventually include a Vietnam Wall, memorials to other wars, and recognition of first responders.
Much of the council's questioning centered on why the organization needs another city property. The group previously purchased land from Arnold for the memorial, but the site was never developed. Roorda said additional fill, sewer work, parking needs, property access, and cooperation with neighboring landowners eventually made the original site too costly to pursue.
Council members questioned what should now happen to that property while the organization seeks use of another city-owned site. They also raised concerns about relocating youth football from the current field and about the city's long-term responsibility for maintenance, lighting, and security if the completed memorial is eventually turned over to Arnold.
No decision was made Thursday. City staff and Arnold's Veterans Commission are expected to continue reviewing the proposal, with the commission preparing its own response and additional questions.
Other Council Business
The council handled several other items Thursday, including a resident request involving conflicting guidance over a tornado-damaged carport. Mayor Bill Moritz directed the resident to work with Community Development Director Sarah Turner to see whether the issue could be resolved.
Council members also unanimously rezoned 4.13 acres at 3570 Telegraph Road from commercial to residential so the owner can build a new home, and approved $14,763.75 for Arnold Days sound and lighting.
The council approved $20,799.60 for repairs to three indoor pool filters after sand was found entering the pool, along with $17,314 for one final year of support for the city's Laserfiche document system as Arnold prepares to transition records to newer platforms.
Retired Arnold Police Department officer Mark McEnany was appointed to the Board of Adjustment.
Council members also approved a $406,950 contract with Vetter Construction for City Hall interior improvements. The project will reorganize first-floor space, add a private conference room, expand the clerk's office, and create additional room for inspectors. Councilman Brad Cary questioned whether existing upstairs conference space could be used instead, but the project passed unanimously.
A conditional use permit was also allowed to move forward for Walmart to use 34 temporary storage trailers for holiday inventory through 2030.
Council Reports and Community Updates
Council members praised the first Farm Fresh at Sunset event, describing a crowd larger than expected and strong participation from residents and vendors.
With Fox C-6 classes beginning Tuesday, residents were also reminded to watch for school buses and students. Public Works reported that the bridge closure on Pomme Rd causing detours was expected to end, while police had stepped up enforcement after complaints about speeding and drivers running stop signs.
Council Heads Into Closed Session
Before ending the public portion of the evening, the council voted unanimously to enter a closed session for discussion of litigation, real estate, and personnel matters.
The council's attention now returns to the fiscal year 2027 budget.
Monday's special meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Arnold City Hall, giving council members another opportunity to work through the individual spending items and resolve the questions raised Thursday before the city's end-of-month budget deadline.