Orinda council adopts biennial budget, approves five‑year CIP and sets one‑time transfers to reserves

The Orinda City Council on June 3 unanimously adopted the city's biennial operating budget for fiscal years 2025–26 and 2026–27 and approved the capital improvement plan (CIP) for fiscal years 2026–2030.

City staff characterized the plan as balanced and intended to maintain current services while directing one‑time uses of accumulated fund balance toward reserves, risk management and capital projects. Assistant City Manager Doug Lascio said, "This is a balanced budget. It maintains current programs and services. Staffing levels remain constant." The council adopted the budget and the CIP by unanimous votes on the resolutions presented at the meeting.

Why it matters: the budget sets spending priorities and the city's immediate approach to infrastructure maintenance and emergency preparedness. The council approved transfers that staff said use accumulated resources rather than recurring revenue: roughly $975,000 to bring the council's reserve policy in line with the new budget level, about $685,000 to the risk management internal service fund to…