Commission weighs midyear review, monthly reporting and budget timeline as new city manager arrives

The South Pasadena Finance Commission spent the meeting outlining expectations for the midyear financial review and the budget‑planning calendar as the city prepares for a new city manager and an overdue audit.

Kelly (finance consultant, LSL) told commissioners the midyear review will be an estimate based on transactions posted through Dec. 31 and acknowledged the city lacks a complete trial balance for that period. “What we expect to bring to you is our best guess,” she said, adding the midyear will include budget‑to‑actual comparisons through December and a forecast for where 2024–25 is likely to land on June 30.

Why it matters

Commissioners said reliable, regular financial reporting is a priority. The council’s adopted priorities include establishing a cadence for routine financial reports to the council and finance commission. Commissioners asked for a concise, repeatable “one‑page scorecard” showing budget vs. actual and key indicators; Kelly said the finance system can produce a standard balance sheet and income statement and that percentage variances can be added.

Timing and sequencing

The commission discussed meeting dates and a joint session with the city council. Staff intends to appear in joint session with council on April 16 for review of the midyear; Kelly offered March 27 as a tentative commission meeting to discuss progress but said she was only “about 50‑50” on meeting readiness and suggested a short delay to allow reconciliation and beginning‑fund‑balance work to proceed. Commissioners also discussed scheduling a tentative special meeting in May and a final review before council action in April. The newly hired city manager is due to start March 31, and commissioners said his involvement in budget kickoff and preliminary draft review will be important.

Reporting cadence and content

Commissioners sought clarity on how often they could expect budget‑to‑actuals. Kelly said monthly reports are possible but currently unreliable because deposits and p‑card charges have not been fully posted to the general ledger; until reconciliations are up to date the monthly numbers would require caveats. Commissioners expressed a preference for reproducible, system‑generated reports where possible; Kelly and staff said custom manual reports are feasible but would require more staff time.

KPIs, investment policy and other near‑term items

The commission also discussed departmental KPIs and agreed to postpone deep KPI work until after the budget is adopted and staffing improves. Commissioners moved to keep the March 27 meeting and use it for an investment‑policy refresh and December–January investment reports; staff said it could present at least December and January investment activity. Commissioners encouraged staff to solicit proposals from Morgan Stanley and other investment managers if the city wishes to replace the current day‑to‑day manager.

Ending

Commissioners emphasized patience paired with accountability: several asked staff to prioritize reconciling the books, producing a clear midyear estimate and establishing a simple, repeatable monthly reporting scorecard. Kelly and city staff said they will aim to provide a preliminary budget draft for the incoming city manager shortly after his March 31 start and to bring a midyear analysis to the commission and council as soon as reconciliations allow.