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Taft council adopts 2025–26 budget after finance presentation; council approves operating plan with transfers and possible midyear review
Summary
Finance Director Teresa Binkley presented the proposed 2025–26 budget, highlighting increases in personnel-related costs and a proposed $850,100 in capital transfers; the council voted 4–0 to adopt the final 2024–25 and proposed 2025–26 budgets and found the action not a CEQA project.
Teresa Binkley, Taft's finance director, presented the city—s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025–26 during the June 17 council meeting and explained an overall increase driven largely by personnel cost inflation and the city—s ongoing TAP community correctional facility operations.
Binkley said the city is projecting an overall budget increase from the prior year largely because of higher worker—s compensation, insurance, CalPERS unfunded liability and a higher fire services contract. She listed several concrete figures: an approximate $250,000 increase in workers— comp, an estimated $629,000 in insurance costs for 2025–26, a CalPERS unfunded liability payment projected at $1,385,007, and a near-$128,000 increase for the fire services agreement. "Total overall for all these increases is $790,000 for the year," Binkley said.
Binkley described revenue assumptions and explained transfers being used to support capital work: gas tax and TDA (transportation) transfers provide funds for streets and projects; one-time transfers proposed include $550,000 from gas tax and an additional combined transfer to reach an approximately $850,100 capital package. She told the council the budget is conservative on revenues and that historically the city often outperforms its conservative revenue estimates: "we feel like we've been very conservative in our numbers," she said.
Council members asked detailed questions about asset forfeiture receipts, the community service officer staffing line, changes in federal wastewater treatment plant reimbursements, and the composition of transfers in. City Manager Jones and Binkley clarified that some transfers are proposed from reserves and gas tax funds and that staff expects to revisit the budget in finance committee and possibly perform a midyear revision once more exact liability and insurance numbers are known.
After the presentation and discussion, item 3 on the agenda was the adoption of the final budget for fiscal year 2024–25 and the proposed budget for 2025–26. Council member Kreier moved to adopt the resolution entitled "Resolution of the City Council of the City of Taft, adopting the City of Taft final budget for fiscal year 2024–25 and the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025–26, and find that the activity is not a project per CEQA as set forth in section 15060(c)(3) and section 15378 of the CEQA guidelines." Council member Waldrop seconded the motion.
Roll call recorded affirmative votes from Council member Scribe, Mayor Pro Tem Bryant, Council member Waldrop and Council member Chavera; the motion passed 4–0 with Mayor Noor absent. The council and staff agreed to continue conservative spending and to review the budget in finance committee within the next quarter if updated liability and workers' compensation figures suggest revisions are necessary.
The adoption included the council—s finding under CEQA that the budget action is not a project under the cited guidelines. The council then moved to the next agenda items.
