|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The San Ramon City Council is set to review an independent financial audit of the city’s budget in the last fiscal year, which points to positive signs following efforts to correct for a budget shortfall and deficit spending that came to a head in 2024.
The city’s annual audited financial report is on the table for the council as the major item of business at its upcoming meeting, providing insight into financial trends in the city’s budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
Highlights of the report include a $2.6 million reduction in pension liabilities and an ending general fund reserve balance of $29.1 million, exceeding the minimum 36% while “ensuring a stable financial position and providing a cushion for future fiscal challenges,” according to a staff report from Finance Director Jennifer Wakeman.
General fund revenues exceeded expectations by more than $5 million in the last fiscal year, coming out to $71.6 million. Reserves were up by $1.8 million compared with the end of the 2024 fiscal year.
Thanks in part to the sales tax increase that was passed by voters in 2024 and went into effect last year, along with other tax increases, the city’s tax revenue was $3.2 million more than anticipated in the budget. Intergovernmental revenue, driven by state funds for the police department’s organized retail theft operations and reimbursements for storm damage in 2023, was $1.6 million more than anticipated. Investment income was also $900,000 more than anticipated.
Those major gains were enough to offset areas that fell short in terms of revenue expectations in the previous fiscal year’s budget. Charges for services brought in $500,000 less than expected in revenue, with a decrease in estimated facility rentals causing miscellaneous fees revenue to come out to $300,000 less than expected.
Meanwhile, total general fund expenditures amounted to $61.4 million, less than the $65.1 million that had been budgeted.
“The positive variance between budgeted and actual expenditures were achieved by holding vacant positions open, deferring maintenance and reducing funding to internal services,” Wakeman wrote.
Final costs for salaries and benefits, materials and supplies, travel, training and memberships, and professional services all came out below budget by $3.3 million total, with capital outlay slighting exceeding budget by $100,000.
The City Council is set to hear the report from auditors from Maze and Associates at its regular meeting Tuesday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. The agenda is available here.
Danville Planning Commission to hear appeal in neighborhood dispute over carport February 9, 2026 11:17 pm