Imperial City staff present $32.9 million proposed budget; council to consider adoption next week

Victor, a city staff member, presented the proposed operating budget totaling about $32.88 million at a special Imperial City Council work study, saying the packet includes departmental line-item detail and that some input errors would be corrected before finalization.

The proposal allocates roughly $18.6 million to the general fund, $6.4 million to water, $5.9 million to wastewater and about $1.8 million to information technology; salaries and benefits total about $14.9 million, which Victor said is roughly 45% of the operating budget. "I try to budget all departments as close to what we're spending," Victor said.

The presentation highlighted several one-time capital items that were not included in the baseline operating budget — notably a fire truck and a street sweeper — and noted that some capital projects are funded from designated sources such as grants, Measure D and gas tax. City staff said they will present corrected worksheets and separate the capital improvements budget in July.

Council and staff discussed revenue uncertainties, including cannabis receipts and hotel-related TOT, and potential sources for future capital needs such as sales tax increases, updated impact fees and utility-rate adjustments under Proposition 218. Victor told the council he would research half-percent and 1.0-percent sales tax scenarios and return with analysis.

The council did not take final votes during the work study. Victor said he planned to bring a resolution to adopt the budget at the next regular meeting; the council confirmed the next meeting date. "I know the plan is to adopt next week the budget," Victor said. Staff will circulate revised budget documents before adoption.