Emeryville amends midyear budget, moves redevelopment residuals to shore up general fund

Emeryville City Council on March 4 approved a package of midyear budget adjustments and policy changes designed to reduce a structural deficit and increase the city’s short-term fiscal flexibility.

The council adopted an eight-point strategy recommended by the Budget and Governance Committee and vetted by the Budget Advisory Committee that reallocates the city’s residual redevelopment property tax revenues to the general fund, merges the economic uncertainty and disaster reserves, sets a 20% target for the unassigned general fund balance and assigns $3.3 million for a pending Social Security settlement, among other actions.

"In this 5-year projection the city is projecting a deficit in the general fund for all five years," Brian Mora, finance consultant with Regional Government Services, told the council during a presentation that outlined the city’s revenue shortfalls and reserve positions. Mora detailed that current-year revenue shortfalls included a $5.1 million decline from estimates and that last year’s adopted budget had moved from an originally projected $5.2 million deficit to a $7.2 million final shortfall largely because of a settlement with the IRS.

Why it matters: City…