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The San Ramon City Council is set to have their final discussions and consider adopting a proposed budget for the next fiscal year ahead of a looming deadline at the end of the month and amid a $14.1 million deficit identified in the budgeting process.
City officials have been seeking to contend with the projected deficit since April, with the city voting to approve $8.1 million in budget cuts across the city’s department and services during an April 23 workshop. The council then voted on June 4 to close a remaining $3.5 million gap in the preliminary draft budget via the city’s Other-Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) fund.
The proposed budget on the table at this week’s meeting amounts to $131 million in expenses total, including a $96.8 million operating budget, an $11 million capital budget, and $17.7 million internal service funds budget. It also consists of a $400,000 special revenue funds non-operating budget, a $5.2 million debt service funds budget, and a $1.3 million geological hazard abatement districts budget.Â
Following their consideration of the proposed budget, the council is set to continue dialogue on the city’s financial outlook with a presentation on the option of putting a sales tax measure on the November ballot.
The informational presentation is set to focus on the results of a poll of city residents conducted in May on their opinions about the city’s finances and management.
According to those results, 72% of residents continue to believe that “things are generally going in the right direction,” ranking the crime/safety, growth/development and traffic/congestion categories as their top three concerns. The results show that 55% of respondents would approve of a half-cent sales tax increase, with 59% supporting a one-cent sales tax increase.Â
Residents ranked police services and street and road maintenance both as their top priority, with those categories tying for top priority at 84% of the tally. Maintenance for public parks was the top priority for 76% of respondents, followed by traffic and road safety according to 73% of residents and street and road improvement for 68% of residents.
Although the immediate financial crisis facing the city during the budgeting process for the upcoming year is set to be temporarily resolved following budget cuts and other cost-adjustment measures, San Ramon continues to face an ongoing $17.6 million structural shortfall in the current year, which is projected to increase over the coming years, rising to $52.3 million in the 2028-29 fiscal year if action isn’t taken to align the city’s expenditures and revenues.
According to analysis from city staff in the presentation set for the upcoming meeting, a half-cent sales tax increase could potentially increase revenue by $7.8 million, a three-quarters-cent increase could increase revenue by $11.7 million, and a one-cent increase could generate an additional $15.6 million.
Pending direction from the council, city staff could return with a ballot packet for a sales tax measure at the July 9 council meeting.
The San Ramon City Council is set to meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday (June 25). The agenda is available here.
