Special meeting

In an effort to close the books on the 2009 fiscal year, a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen has been called for 7 p.m. Aug. 20 in the aldermanic chamber at City Hall.

The purpose of the meeting is for the board to vote on the mayor’s plan to transfer $3.3 million from the school capital reserve account to cover the shortfall in the fiscal 2009 budget.

The Board of Education endorsed the plan July 29. A resolution will be presented to the Board of Aldermen for a first reading Tuesday. The resolution is expected to be assigned to the Budget Review Committee, where it will be debated and brought back to the board Aug. 20 for final approval.

Fiscal 2009 ended June 30, and city officials hope to cover the deficit, discovered two weeks ago, before closing the books on the fiscal year.

School administrators said the deficit caught them by surprise and attributed it to over-expenditures in salaries and special education.

The Board of Education is in the process of discussing proposed cuts to address a projected $3 million deficit in the budget for fiscal 2010, which began July 1.