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Los Banos council adopts midyear budget amendments, approves consent items and reassigns funds
Summary
The Los Banos City Council on April 2 adopted midyear budget amendments that reallocated cash from closed capital funds and adjusted appropriations across police, fire and internal service funds. The council also approved the consent agenda, removed two sewer procurement items for later consideration and confirmed committee appointments.
Los Banos City Council on April 2 adopted a midyear budget amendment resolution that repurposes leftover capital and interest proceeds, increases appropriations for police and fire overtime and realigns salary and capital allocations across several funds.
The action, approved by the council as Resolution No. 6914, came after a presentation from the city's finance consultant, who said the general fund is projecting an operating surplus after the proposed amendments. “Based upon our projected revenues and the proposed increases that are identified in Exhibit A, we anticipate the projected revenues after amendments to be close to $27,000,000,” the finance consultant said during the presentation.
Why it matters: Council members said the adjustments restore funding where the city experienced shortfalls midyear — predominantly overtime and insurance costs in public safety — and correct accounting allocations. The amendments also close the Police Department Station Capital Projects Fund and transfer approximately $1 million back into the general fund, and reclassify more than $550,000 in ARPA interest as unrestricted for general fund use.
Key details: The council heard that sales tax receipts were coming in slightly below budget while interest revenue remained strong. Staff recommended increases primarily for police overtime (about $300,000 across funds), fire overtime and IT capital allocations, and a salary realignment across departments to correct coding errors identified during the midyear review. The report noted a citywide cash and investments increase driven largely by an $11 million IRF grant reported in special revenue funds.
The council adopted the resolution after brief council discussion. Mayor Patel and council members thanked staff for the detailed review and said the adjustments support continued service levels.
Votes at a glance: - Motion to adopt Resolution No. 6914 (Midyear budget amendments): passed unanimously (voice vote). The motion was made and carried; no roll-call counts were read into the record. - Motion to approve the consent agenda (warrants and multiple routine resolutions listed in the staff report): passed unanimously (voice vote). - Motion to approve the agenda as submitted with removal of items 8 and 9 (see below): passed unanimously (voice vote).
Items removed from tonight's agenda: Council approved the removal of Item 8 (Resolution No. 6912: proposed $4,432,440 construction contract award with 15% contingency for the final kilometer sewer trunk line replacement project to Rolfe Construction Inc.) and Item 9 (Resolution No. 6913: purchase order for reinforced concrete pipe with A Gee Construction Corporation in the amount of $175,269 pursuant to section 3-10.25M of the city municipal code). Staff said both items will be returned for future council consideration.
What’s next: Staff will implement the approved line-item changes in the fiscal system and bring the removed procurement items back at a later date for council action. The city also signaled the next budget cycle will be the focus in coming meetings, with opportunities for public review.
