In case you missed it
The fiscal year 2025-26 budget, presented to City Council on Aug. 11, was created based on a no-new-revenue rate.
The majority of the proposed budget—about $120 million— allocates funds for capital improvement projects.
While the budget includes increases from last year—an average of a 2.5% step increase for city employees, an increase in street maintenance funding, as well as feasibility studies for the recreation center, aquatic center and library—it also reduces or maintains funding for other areas.
What happened
City Council heard from the heads of each city department to discuss how the budget affects their operations.
Police Chief Jeffrey Yarbrough said that while in past years, adding officer positions has provided a cushion for staffing, that’s not something the department will receive in this budget.
“The city’s growing, the calls for service are growing, and the number of officers are not quite keeping up with that at this point,” Yarbrough said. “But that’s a challenge that many agencies are feeling as well.”
Public Works Director Rick Coronado said the department will also need to make plans for aging maintenance equipment, items that were cut from this year's budget.
“I’m hearing a theme across multiple departments that we’re limping around with what we got, we’re stretching things out to make them last long beyond their anticipated life,” Place 4 council member Peter Gordon said.
After speaking with Matt Rector, the city engineer, City Council approved a motion to include two new full-time employees for the engineering department in the budget. This will not be through an increase in funding, but by arranging funds.
City Council members took a record vote for the proposed tax rate to include in the public hearing notice, though his doesn’t yet officially adopt the rate for the new fiscal year.
The no-new-revenue rate passed 5-2, with Gordon and Place 1 council member Brian Thompson voting against.
What’s next
Council members need to adopt the FY 2025-26 budget before adopting the associated tax rate. It has the opportunity to hold the public hearing and adopt both the budget and tax rate at the Sept. 4 meeting.
