CC Resolution No. 25-070 approving the updated City Council Special Project PolicyRESOLUTION NO. 25-070
A RESOLUTION OF THE CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING AN
UPDATED CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL PROJECT POLICY
WHEREAS, the Cupertino City Council has identified a need to adopt a
policy governing the creation of, acceptance of, and reporting of special projects;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-022 on April 2,
2025, establishing a Special Project Policy;
WHEREAS, on September 3, 2025, the City Council considered an updated
policy at a duly noticed regular meeting of the City Council.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that:
1.The City Council hereby adopts the Cupertino City Council Special Project
Policy, attached hereto as Exhibit A. The updated Special Project Policy
shall be effective on September 3, 2025.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Cupertino this 3rd day of September 2025, by the following vote:
Members of the City Council
AYES: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan, Wang
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Liang Chao, Mayor
City of Cupertino
Date
Kirsten Squarcia, City Clerk Date
9/18/2025
9/18/2025
EXHIBIT A
CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL PROJECTS
POLICY
Citywide Policy Manual
Policy #25-022
Attachments:
N/A
Effective Date:
September 3, 2025 per Resolution 25-070
Responsible Department:
Administrative Services
Related Policies & Notes:
N/A
City Council or Administrative Policy:
City Council
Purpose
To establish City Council authority for the purpose and creation of Special Projects for
inclusion and tracking as part of the City's budget process.
Special Projects are defined as one-time, staff-initiated projects that require City Council
approval due to the need for budget appropriations that exceed a department's base
budget. Base budget items are the baseline appropriations to continue operations at the
current level. In instances where there are sufficient budget appropriations the City
Manager will submit an informational memo to advise the City Council of the
reappropriation of funds to the special project. As discussed in the Special Project
Reporting section below, these projects will continue to be reported in the Special Project
reports.
Special Projects are not meant to track ongoing operational costs like street pavement
maintenance, minor repairs, development projects which may span multiple fiscal years,
or the purchase of equipment, unless the department needs to track these expenses
because of the use of restricted funds to pay for the equipment or materials. Ongoing
operational costs will be included in the department's base budget or added as an ongoing
budget appropriation request to the City Council.
Policy
This policy, including any amendments, shall be approved by City Council Resolution and
shall be effective upon the policy's adoption.
It is the objective of the City to ensure transparent financial reporting that allows
Councilmembers, residents, and staff to track expenditures across multiple fiscal years.
EXHIBIT A
This policy will be reviewed annually as part of the proposed budget process.
City Manager Authorization
As part of the City's proposed budget process, departments must submit for approval any
new one- time projects or initiatives that require additional funding. If approved by the
City Manager, these projects are included in the proposed and final budget for City
Council consideration and approval.
These requests are separate and are apart from the City Work Program (CWP) items,
which are Council initiated and may be one-time and/or result in ongoing costs. Both types
of projects require City Council appropriation approval.
City Council Approval and Questions
All Special Projects approved by the City Manager that require additional appropriations
will be included in the proposed and final budgets for City Council approval. These
projects will be presented and discussed during the budget process, and appropriations
added upon approval. Off cycle Special Project creation using the reappropriation of
existing funds will be presented to City Council as a consent item for approval.
Any questions from City Council regarding Special Projects that are part of the regular
Special Projects reporting process described in the section below will be answered as part
of the supplemental report process. Questions that fall outside of the reporting process
will be responded to in a timely manner based on the scope of the question.
Special Project Reporting
Special Projects will be included in the departmental narratives of the proposed and final
budget. A summary of proposed Special Projects will be included in the summary section
of the budget message and upon budget approval this list will be finalized as part of the
final budget.
As part of the quarterly financial reports, staff will report on the following items for all
Special Projects:
•Adoption Year
•Function - department that has the special project, for example
Administration, which encompasses City Manager and City Attorney.
•Program - specific budget unit (e.g., 120 City Manager)
•Base and Detail Account with Detail Account description - the expense account where
the special project is budgeted, for example 750-.056 Neighborhood engagement.
EXHIBIT A
Special project account numbers are unique to one project.
•Full Org Set Code and Description - Includes full account string (Fund-Div-
Program) and description of the org set. For example, 100-12-632, where the first three
digits are the fund, the next two digits are the division, and the last three digits are
the program in which the special project is budgeted. General Fund-City Manager-
Comm Outreach & Neighborhood Watch.
•Amended Budget - This is the total budget in a fiscal year and includes new dollars
added in proposed and any budgeted dollars that have been carried forward from
the prior fiscal year as of a given date, for quarterly report they include Sept-30,
Dec-31 and March-31.
•Actual Amount - dollars spent as of a given date, see amended section above.
•Encumbrance - dollars encumbered either through a contract or purchase order as of
a given date.
•Status - This includes completed, in progress, not started, started, pending and
cancelled.
•Outside Funding - identifies if outside funding is available like grants to fund the
projects.
•Estimated Completion - the date and month the Special Project is expected to be
completed.
•Notes - this includes information that staff would like to make the council and
residents aware of and includes future plans like a project being carried over or
defunded, along with other updates.
This quarterly financial report is meant to be informative, and the City Council is not
required to approve or take any action, other than to receive the attachment as part of the
financial report.