Mayor Kristen Brown got her first city budget approved Tuesday, but the Columbus City Council imposed greater restrictions on how she can spend some of the money.
The council passed an amendment that would require the mayor to seek council approval for certain expenditures from the capital improvement and cumulative capital funds.
Those funds are part of a 2013 city budget that has $2.4 million less in expenditures than this year’s budget ($48.6 million to $46.2 million).
Councilman Jim Lienhoop, who proposed the amendment, said it was to provide greater oversight on how money is spent.
The capital improvement fund had been listed as one line item of $1.2 million. With the amendment, the money is split into two pools: $100,000, from which projects and items do not need council approval, and the remaining $1.1 million, from which projects and items need council approval. It would be up to the mayor to decide from which pool to pay for a project or item. Expenditures from the $185,000 cumulative capital fund would need council approval with the amendment.
