Seaside adopts 2025–26 budget with modest surplus, holds reserves above policy

The Seaside City Council on Jan. 24 adopted the city's 2025—————————————————— 26 operating budget, approving a plan staff said yields a small operating surplus and brings the unassigned fund balance back into positive territory.

City staff presented a revised budget that reduces department requests by roughly $4.6 million during the review process, defers selected capital projects and spreads reductions in transfers to the streets fund over two years. Finance Director Jessica Riley told the council the final package shows an operating surplus of $47,887 and a positive unassigned fund balance of about $318,000, meeting the city's 30% reserve policy.

The budget package included $2.7 million in capital allocations, with $625,000 directed to capital improvement projects and $2 million set aside for street maintenance and repair. Staff recommended and council accepted deferring the Hilby storm drain project and the Fab Lab capital project to improve near-term reserves. Council also authorized transfers totaling $250,000 to the Laguna Grande Park project for an artificial turf installation funded from short-term rental receipts.

Public works Director Thomas Korman described a strategy to maintain pavement condition using a combination of in-house repairs and new equipment that he said will reduce contractor costs. He said the city's pavement condition index (PCI) stands at 53 and that, with the new approach and the retained funding strategy, the network should hold rather than decline sharply. Korman described an "asphalt zipper" reclamation machine and said bringing more work in house will reduce off-haul and permit more targeted preventive treatments.

Council also directed a change to the streets funding policy: three percent of any projected midyear surplus will be set aside for street operations or pavement rehabilitation in the following year in addition to maintenance-of-effort commitments. Staff said the council previously discussed raising the long-term allocation toward streets and recommended 30% of any surplus at midyear go toward streets rather than reverting to a prior 25% level.

The council approved several fee and program adjustments as part of the budget package: the animal licensing policy will charge $40 for unaltered pets (with a $10 extra fee waived if a veterinarian documents a medical exemption), altered-pet licenses remain at $30, senior reduced fees remain $11, and the garage-sale permit fee was proposed to be reduced from $24 to $15.

A motion to adopt the resolution approving the FY 2025————————————————— 26 operating budget, investment policy, capital improvement program, fee schedule, position control list, salary schedule, strategic plan and reserve amounts passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Council members thanked staff for extensive study sessions and work to craft a balanced package; several members noted the process required compromises across departments. Member of the public Linda Cunningham expressed support for the council and staff's efforts during the budget reviews.