Finance director previews proposed FY26 operating budgets; citywide risk-allocation drives increases

Jocelyn Valdez, the City of Lemoore finance director, presented an overview of proposed fiscal 2025–26 operating expenditures and where the city stands against the current year budget during the Feb. 4 study session.

Valdez said the adopted general-fund budget for fiscal 2024–25 was about $4.3 million and that the city currently expects to close the year near $4.2 million with an overall reduction of roughly $102,000. She attributed many department variances to a change in the city’s risk-management cost-allocation methodology.

Looking to next fiscal year, Valdez said the proposed general-fund operating budget totals approximately $5.4 million, an increase of roughly $1 million compared with the adopted current-year budget. Major upward pressure in departments stems from risk-management allocation changes, new or continued contracts and an assumed modest annual cost escalation. She noted specific increases in police (including a body-camera contract and vehicle requests), dispatch (contract budgeting with the city of Hanford), public-works street supplies, and human resources risk-management costs; public-works maintenance requested two additional vehicles that city staff said might be covered internally.

Enterprise funds showed mixed projections: water is expected to be under budget overall but will carry capital projects forward; sewer has a net increase (Valdez cited a $4 million lift-station project delayed to fiscal 2026 and a $500,000 Headworks bar-screening redesign); refuse and utility-billing show modest changes. Specific capital items discussed included an estimated $725,000 brine-hauling project (beginning when a new well is brought online, targeted October 2025) and a TTHM compliance project estimated at $1.6 million with work split across two fiscal years.

Valdez said the budget presentation focuses on operating costs now; personnel costs and projected revenues will be addressed in future meetings and workshops. Council members asked clarifying questions about risk-management allocation, vehicle upfits for police, parceling of planned capital improvement projects and the timing for dispatch-center costs. Valdez and staff said some items — such as the timing of the dispatch center’s transition and vehicle procurement choices — could change and would be updated at subsequent budget workshops.

No formal vote was taken; the presentation was informational and marked the first step in the FY26 budget process.