Not for anywhere near the first time, Kenmore City Councilman John Hendrickson and other local officials, including City Manager Fred Stouder, are at odds over whose version of the city’s bottom line is the correct one.

At the Jan. 24 Kenmore council meeting, Stouder read a long letter making the request for council to reconsider his contract and aiming some harsh words at Hendrickson. But even before he read that letter, Stouder had said he took exception to a comment by Hendrickson that appeared in the Jan. 21 edition of the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. In that comment, Hendrickson claimed the city already is spending its reserves to meet day-to-day operating expenses.

Stouder insists that is not the case.

“The adopted budget is not using any reserves and is actually adding to cash reserves,” Stouder said in a memo sent to City Council.

In the memo and in subsequent comments, Stouder maintains the city adopted a 2011-2012 budget of $19.2 million, a budget 7 percent smaller than the previous biennial budget. Notably, according to Hendrickson, Stouder states in the memo that the $19.2 million figure provides for, among other municipal services, street maintenance.

By Hendrickson’s reckoning, if the city’s $2.3 million street fund is added in, the total revenue for Kenmore over 2011 and 2012 becomes $21.1 million.

At the same time, he asserts the city is planning to spend $3.1 million in the street fund. With those numbers placed into the mix, Hendrickson puts Kenmore’s total 2011-2012 expenses at $22.3 million, leaving a shortfall of $1.1 million. Hendrickson maintains the city is making up the difference by dipping into its reserves.

According to Hendrickson, the city will begin the biennium with $8.09 million in cash on hand, including street fund dollars. By the end of the biennium, he claims that figure will drop to $6.9 million. Hendrickson adds he is using numbers taken directly from the Kenmore budget.

In terms of the city’s supposed budget deficit, Hendrickson maintains the actual figure may be even higher. He said the city is using as revenue three categories of funds he believes should be listed in Kenmore’s capital improvement budget and that those funds were that way in previous years. With those dollars taken out, Kenmore’s alleged deficit jumps to $1.3 million over the biennium.

“It’s a complete distortion of the application of various resources,” Stouder said regarding Hendrickson’s figures.

Stouder contends — and claims the other six members of council understand — that no reserves are being used to balance the city budget. He said Kenmore’s spending plan was created based on revenue projections. According to Stouder’s figures, any unobligated funds, savings or additional revenues from last year’s operating budget are projected to be $6.2 million once all numbers from 2010 are in. He said that figure will drop to $5.6 million by the end of 2012. But Stouder asserts the difference is due to some dollars that will be transferred for continuation of improvements to State Route 522.

Stouder maintains the city has tightened its proverbial belt, that unless administrators were absolutely certain a specific expense was needed, that expense wasn’t budgeted. He noted the city has posted continuously clean state audits and even won awards for budget management.

“I don’t think I’ve every felt better about the financial condition of a young city,” Stouder said.