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BACKGROUND <br /> The Proposed Operating and Capital Budget includes a comprehensive detailed <br /> account, forecast and plan of all City revenues and expenditures across all funds, <br /> including the General Fund, Enterprise Funds, Internal Service Funds, Special Revenue <br /> Funds, and Capital Projects Funds. Both the Two-Year Operating Budget and the CIP <br /> documents include narratives and details that provide information regarding budgetary <br /> adjustments, issues, and goals. Please refer to the budget messages in the Proposed <br /> Operating Budget and the CIP for highlights. <br /> As with all City budgets, this document focuses attention on those areas deemed by the <br /> City Council to be a high priority. As a result, the Proposed Budget maintains existing <br /> service levels and meets capital needs in a way that addresses not only new programs <br /> and capital improvement projects but also a wide range of maintenance projects related <br /> to facilities, roadways, parks, and water and sewer systems. In this way, the Budget <br /> meets the goals of the City Council and the community. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> This report includes a set of recommended adjustments to the Proposed Budget. While <br /> the Proposed Budget and the CIP documents were being finalized in late April, staff <br /> became aware of a few cost increases. First, the City's general liability insurance <br /> premium amount (preliminary estimate) for FY 2023/24 was recently made available by <br /> the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority (BCJPIA); premiums are scheduled to <br /> increase by 31.6 percent to almost $4.3 million next fiscal year. This increase is greater <br /> than what was estimated and included in the Proposed Budget. Staff is working with <br /> BCJPIA to refine the number, and staff believes the proposed adjustments should be <br /> sufficient to cover the costs for FY 2023/24 and FY 2024/25. Second, based on staff's <br /> most recent analysis of anticipated costs for existing and upcoming litigation and claims, <br /> the City's legal costs for the next two years are expected to be more than budgeted. <br /> Staff identified adjustments in the Proposed Budget to offset these two areas of <br /> increase to keep the General Fund budget balanced. These recommended adjustments <br /> are found in Attachment 3. <br /> Staff originally presented recommended updates to the existing reserve policy at the <br /> April 18, 2023, budget workshop. Based on the City Council's comments, staff updated <br /> the reserve policy to add clarity on the use of excess fund balance. The revised policy <br /> also clarifies that the General Fund reserve should be calculated using the next fiscal <br /> year's budget or the current fiscal year budget if next year's budget is not available. The <br /> final version of the reserve policy is presented in Attachment 4 and in Appendix C of the <br /> Proposed FY 2023/24 and FY 2025/26 Operating Budget document for review. <br /> As previously indicated, this agenda item is intended to be informative by providing the <br /> City Council and the public with an opportunity to review recommended expenditures, <br /> revenues, and assumptions. In addition, it provides the City Council with an opportunity <br /> to request additional information, if necessary, prior to the adoption of the Budget, which <br /> is scheduled for June 6, 2023. Staff intends to provide presentations covering all <br /> aspects of the Proposed Budget and CIP. <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />