The Imperial Beach City Council adopted a balanced two‑year municipal budget for fiscal years 2025–26 and 2026–27 on June 4, approving one‑time expenditures for critical safety, facility repairs and limited community projects while preserving the city’s reserve policy.

Lily Flight, the city’s finance director, presented the proposed FY 2025–26 budget and noted the document is a two‑year plan covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. The proposed general fund for FY 2026 was approximately $31 million; total projected revenues across all funds were about $49.4 million and total expenditures $50.3 million (the budget document excludes certain one‑time costs in that summary). Flight told the council the second year shows an estimated surplus of $15,400 and that margins are “extremely tight.”

Nut graf: The budget moves forward with a conservative approach — protecting core services, prioritizing safety and maintenance, and rolling forward key capital projects — while maintaining an unreserved fund balance within the city policy range of 30–40 percent.

Key details and priorities
- Revenues and reserves: General‑fund revenue was presented at roughly $31 million. After approving a package of one‑time investments (about $850,300 over two years), the unreserved fund balance was projected at about 35% of general‑fund expenditures, inside the council’s 30–40% reserve policy.
- Major spending categories: Public safety consumed about half of general‑fund expenditures (Sheriff, Fire, Marine Safety and Animal Control). Community development and public works accounted for roughly 23%, non‑departmental and pension/CalPERS obligations together represented significant shares of remaining spending.
- One‑time and CIP items: Council approved one‑time expenditures for safety improvements at the fire station, storm‑drain repairs, fueling station replacement, replacement of several aged city vehicles, and a disaster recovery project for IT. The capital improvement program (CIP) carries forward previously approved projects including Palm Avenue, Ninth Street improvements and sports‑park work; new projects were added where grant or dedicated funding sources apply (e.g., gas tax, sewer fund).
- Community engagement: Flight said the budget process included a May 7 workshop and three community outreach events; staff also held four employee briefings to explain constraints and trade‑offs.

Council action and direction
- After discussion and questions, council unanimously adopted Resolution 2025‑30 adopting the municipal budget, setting the appropriation limit and approving the two‑year capital improvement schedule. Councilmembers asked staff to continue fiscal prudence and to delay a recommended $100,000 economic‑development plan until a later phase given concurrent sewage‑related uncertainties; staff agreed to consider moving that item to year two.

Context and next steps
- Flight said the city will post the adopted budget online and continue to monitor revenues and expenditures. The council directed staff to carefully track changes, report on progress against the CIP and return with updates as grant awards or cost revisions arise.

Direct quote: “The margins are extremely tight,” Flight said, urging ongoing monitoring of revenue and expense performance over the two‑year cycle.

Ending: Council members praised staff for completing a balanced budget amid constrained revenues and rising costs; the council adopted the budget by unanimous vote with Leila Gonzalez absent.