Gray cast the spending in different terms.

“$480,000 would have gone a very long way toward bathrooms in RPS,” she said.

“To ensure a thorough and meticulous vetting of all of the facets of this complex proposal and protect the city’s interests, we have utilized the variety of skills and expertise of city staff and outside consultants,” Wack said.

The money will not affect the city budget that took effect July 1, he said. The sum was paid with money budgeted last year under a $605,000 line item in the Department of Finance’s budget listed as “financial and investment management services,” Wack said. The spending was also offset by a $50,000 fee the private group submitted with its proposal, required under the city request for proposals, Wack said.

Council President Chris Hilbert said a Times-Dispatch inquiry was the first he had heard of the costs.

“That seems like a lot of money,” Hilbert said. “[The proposal] is not before us yet. We need to be prudent with the taxpayers’ money.”

The council president is among a bloc of council members that has weighed whether the council should commission a separate review of the proposal if Stoney ultimately submits the plans for consideration.