City finance staff and investment adviser report fiscal-year budget development and say city portfolio remains secure amid market volatility

City Finance Director Mark Uribe briefed the Camarillo City Council on the preliminary fiscal-year 2025–26 budget development process, and the city’s investment adviser gave an economic and portfolio update.

Uribe explained the city’s budget calendar, which begins with the midyear review and leads to a budget workshop scheduled for June 4 and final adoption in June. He said major general-fund revenues—sales tax and property tax—are flattening or showing slight declines amid broader economic uncertainty and consumer caution. Uribe said the city’s general-fund reserves remain healthy and staff will focus on expenditure-side controls while preparing a balanced budget.

Jason Schmidt of Chandler Asset Management reviewed market developments, saying trade-policy announcements in April roiled financial markets and that markets remain sensitive to negotiations and potential tariffs. Schmidt told the council the city’s portfolio is conservatively structured: "The portfolio is secure. It is not having the same kind of volatility that you may be seeing in the stock market and that's by design." He described the city’s investments as fixed-income and bond-focused with average maturities well under the city’s 5-year policy limit.

Council members asked about the portfolio’s duration and whether longer-term yields had begun to rise; Schmidt said the average portfolio maturity is typically less than one year and that staff recommend opportunistically moving funds when longer-term yields offer advantage. Vice Mayor Tennyson emphasized that the city holds no equities and that investments comply with the city investment policy and state law.

There was no public comment on the budget/update item; staff will return to council at the June budget workshop.