Cal City Approves $31.3 Million Budget

On Tuesday, almost seven months after the fiscal year started on July 1, the City Council passed a $31.3 million budget for the fiscal year 2023–2024.

Since the city didn't have a budget at the beginning of the fiscal year, it has been able to keep running with extensions of the budget for the fiscal year 2022–2023. This was done so that time could be given to make a new budget that would represent the city's current financial situation and spending priorities.

The agreed upon budget for 2023–2024 calls for spending $31.3 million and bringing in $32 million. The budget says this means that costs have gone up by 27%, or $6.65 million, and income has gone up by 15.9%, or $9.43 million.

Cal City BudgetPhoto byBloomberg

Some city citizens were worried that the budget didn't take into account the fact that the city's special parcel tax will end on June 30 or the new tax that will be put to voters in the March 5 primary election.

Finance Manager Kenny Cooper and local Dwayne Vasquez both said that the special parcel tax money is already set for the fiscal year, which ends on June 30. The council's budget for 2023–2024 is not directly influenced by either the end of the current special tax or the tax that will be put on the ballot in March.

Cooper said, "The March ballot won't change anything about this year." The special tax, either an end to it or a new one, will be taken into account in the budget for 2024–2025, when it is made and presented to the council.

People in the area also had concerns about the budget's plan to double lawyers' fees from the previous year to $1.5 million.

Cooper said that the fees are just an estimate based on the type of lawsuit that is going on or might happen and how the city council and staff use the city attorney. He said, "This amount can't be set." "This number is probably too low; the way things are going, it's likely to be higher."

He said that the $1.5 million budgeted "is enough for what we have now." Councilmember Jim Creighton said, "A budget is a living document; it's a goal." Even though it was based on the best predictions that were available at the time, he said, no budget can predict everything that might happen during the time it covers. This is why the council has the power to change it as needed.

According to Creighton, the difference between the expected income and estimated costs is about $786,000. He said, "From that, I don't see a reason why we can't approve it." "If changes need to be made, it's easy to do so through the city code."

It was agreed upon by Mayor Kelly Kulikoff that things should move forward and people should "stop wasting staff's time."

The Source: avpress