Sonoma ends fiscal 2024–25 with an unaudited $600,000 general-fund surplus; city launches nightly OpenGov transparency portal

Sonoma City officials reported a stronger-than-expected close to fiscal year 2024–25 on Sept. 29, with an unaudited $600,000 surplus in the city’s general fund and a citywide surplus of $3.7 million, Finance Director Ariel told the City Council.

Ariel said the combined total for all funds was "the total surplus for all the funds is $3,700,000," and reported that general-fund revenues exceeded projections while overall spending came in under budget. The city’s unaudited reserve balance at year-end was reported as $16.5 million, which Ariel broke down as operating, emergency and undesignated reserves.

The surplus came amid revenue gains in several categories: transient-occupancy tax (TOT) receipts exceeded expectations, property-tax receipts were stronger than forecast, and ambulance billing produced higher-than-forecast collections. At the same time, sales-tax receipts lagged budgeted targets, a pattern staff attributed to consumer caution.

Ariel also walked council and the public through a new financial-transparency tool on the city website, hosted on OpenGov. "This updates every night," Ariel said of the portal, which maps adopted budgets to transaction-level actuals and lets users filter by fund, department and account.

Why it matters: The unaudited surplus and the new portal both affect near-term policy choices and public oversight. Council members praised the transparency tool as a way to track revenue and spending in close to real time, while staff and council flagged budget risks that remain.

Key fund details and risks - General fund: Amended budget vs. unaudited actuals produced a $600,000 surplus for FY 2024–25. The council-approved FY 2025–26 forecast shows a modest decline in reserves but remains positive under current assumptions. - Water enterprise fund: Reported a $1.1 million surplus, increasing the fund balance. - Cemetery fund: Combined cemetery and cemetery endowment revenues and expenditures produced an operating deficit for the year and an ending fund balance the presentation listed as negative $1.4 million; staff said the figure includes historical entries that will be addressed through accounting adjustments and planned management actions.

Council discussion and next steps Council members asked staff for follow-up on the cemetery fund. The city manager and finance staff said they will return with a more detailed plan from the parks division, including fee updates, increased cemetery staffing capacity, and volunteer and activation efforts aimed at reducing the operating shortfall.

Council members and staff repeatedly noted that a primary fiscal sensitivity is public-safety contract costs. Ariel cautioned that if county sheriff or fire contract costs rise materially above the current projection the city could move back toward a structural deficit.

Procedural actions recorded that evening - The council approved the meeting agenda by voice vote. (Motion and second not specified in the transcript; outcome recorded as approved.) - The council approved the consent calendar by voice vote. (Motion and second not specified in the transcript; outcome recorded as approved.)

Provenance - topicintro: "So we're gonna be going over the fiscal year 20 24 25 year end update." (transcript timestamp s:2851.575) - topfinish: "With that, I am done with the Now we will go and see if we have any questions from the council regarding the, report for 2425." (transcript timestamp s:4286.855)

Speakers - Ariel — Finance Director (presented the FY 2024–25 year-end update and OpenGov demonstration) - Patricia Farrar Rivas — Mayor of the City of Sonoma - Vice Mayor Wallander — Vice Mayor (council member) - Council member Ding — Council member (asked revenue questions) - City Manager — City Manager (commented on cemetery follow-up)

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