Loading...
CC - Item 7A - Mid-Year Budget UpdateROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: JEFF ALLRED, CITY MANAGER DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2010 SUBJECT: MID-YEAR BUDGET UPDATE SUMMARY The Council will be provided with a mid-year update presentation regarding the current 2009-10 fiscal year budget along with a brief look towards the upcoming fiscal year. The Strategic Plan identifies key goals and objectives to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability and staff has been working to ensure these are met. In terms of the General Fund, revenues have proven to be stable and are generally in-line with budgeted projections. Sales tax revenues, while down, are coming in better than anticipated and property tax revenues have been relatively stable. General fund expenditures are remaining in line with budgeted figures and staff has implemented cost savings measures when available. The projected bottom line for the end of the fiscal year is excellent and staff anticipates that revenues and expenditures will be balanced. Special revenue funds and the Community Development Commission funds are also performing well. Revenues related to property taxes in these funds are down slightly, primarily due to adjustments in tax roll values; however, the overall health of these funds remain intact and stable. The City is also awaiting payments from the State that have been delayed due to their budget balancing tactics, but all funds are expected to be received and accounted for by the close of the fiscal year. Staff Recommendation Receive and file the mid-year budget update report. ANALYSIS The City's General Fund revenues have continued to be negatively affected by the economy; however, due to conservative budget projections and somewhat favorable conditions, reductions in one category have been offset by increases in others. As an example, sales tax revenues were down 6.3% on an adjusted basis for the last quarter, but this decrease was less than the 10% or more decrease that had been projected. These positive returns are expected to generate an additional $250,000 in sales tax revenues beyond projections for the current fiscal year. While these increased revenues are certainly a benefit, many other revenue sources continue their downward trend. Transient occupancy tax revenues continue to decline and in speaking to local hotel and motel operators, much of the decline is not due to reduced occupancy, but to reduced room rates on the occupancies. Permit activity also continues to be down along with charges for service related to the building industry. Staff anticipates the fees from the Fresh and Easy to help offset the downward trend; however staff still projects these to finish below budgeted estimates. The reduction in interest rates on the City's investments have also had a significant negative impact. Current investment yields are less than 1.0% and staff will be evaluating other investment opportunities within the scope of the investment policy in an effort to improve yield on investments. APPROVED FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA: ITEM NO. N - City Council Meeting February 23, 2010 Page 2 of 2 For the 2010-11 Fiscal Year, staff has begun developing the revenue estimates and overall are projecting revenues to be flat. Sales tax revenues are projected to increase over the current year budget by approximately 3.5%; however, these increases will be offset by slightly declining property tax revenues, transient occupancy tax and user-generated fees and permits. On the expenditure side, staff will continue to closely monitor our contracts to control cost increases. Staff was successful this past fiscal year in negotiating no increases in many service contracts and it may be difficult to expect similar concessions by vendors for a second year. A detailed presentation and analysis will be provided at the Council meeting. PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process. Submitted by: Matthew E. H wkesw Assistant City Manager Prepared by: Steve Brisco Finance Director