The Red Bluff City Council on June 17 adopted the city’s spending plan for fiscal year 2025–26 after the budget committee recommended the document following multiple staff meetings and department reviews.

The budget committee and finance staff presented a consolidated budget that keeps overall general-fund spending near the prior year but incorporates negotiated salary increases and several position changes. The council approved the position-allocation list and amendments to the pay schedules that implement negotiated cost-of-living adjustments for bargaining units and add three full-time allocations including a grants manager, a fire engineer and a police dispatch supervisor.

City Finance Director Paul Young told the council the budget uses conservative revenue projections from HDL and that sales tax remains the single largest general-fund revenue source at about 48 percent. The city’s current adopted numbers show a projected drawdown of fund balance; staff said the city could fall below its 15 percent general-fund reserve policy around January 2026 under the conservative assumptions used in the adopted budget.

The budget committee recommended quarterly monitoring and a reconvening of the committee in September, after first-quarter revenue and expenditure actuals are available, to consider options to restore or protect the reserve. The committee emphasized the city’s history of underspending adopted budgets as a partial cushion.

During the council discussion, Chamber of Commerce leadership and Council Member David Yellen urged an increase to the city’s annual chamber allocation (from $70,000 to a proposed $82,000). Council members acknowledged the chamber’s role in economic development and promotional work but expressed concern about making a discretionary increase at the time of adopting a budget built on conservative revenue assumptions. The council did not amend the adopted budget; members agreed to revisit potential adjustments after September actuals are available.

The council voted to adopt the budget and associated appropriations limit. Roll call recorded: Council Member Clement — yes; Council Member Hurdon — yes; Mayor Pro Tem Gonzalez — yes; Mayor Dyer — yes.

The council also approved companion personnel and pay-schedule items that were part of the budget package: updated class specifications for the police communications supervisor and the code enforcement officer, an amendment to the management/mid-management memorandum of understanding to add the new positions, and an updated hourly pay schedule for part-time and seasonal staff. Those items were approved by the same roll-call vote.