CC Resolution No. 25-022 approving the City Council Special Project PolicyRESOLUTION NO. 25‐022
A RESOLUTION OF THE CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING
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, on April 2, 2025, the City Council considered a proposed
policy at a duly noticed special 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 Special Project Policy shall be
effective on April 2, 2025.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the City Council of the City of
Cupertino this 2nd day of April, 2025, by the following vote:
Members of the City Council
AYES: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan, Wang
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
SIGNED:
________
Liang Chao, Mayor
City of Cupertino
________________________
Date
ATTEST:
________
Kirsten Squarcia, City Clerk
________________________
Date
4/15/2025
4/15/2025
CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL PROJECTS
POLICY
Policy Manual
Policy #25-022
Attachments:
N/A
Effective Date:
April 2, 2025 per Resolution 25-022
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 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 must request City Council authority in
the form of a consent agenda item to reappropriate the funds as a 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.
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
Exhibit A
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. 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.