Tehachapi releases balanced five‑year budget projection; Measure S funds public safety and capital projects

City staff presented the Tehachapi City Council with a five-year operating and capital budget that city officials described as conservative and balanced, emphasizing continued investment in public safety and infrastructure while acknowledging pressure from rising contract and insurance costs.

Finance Director Hamed Jones led the presentation and said the budget package includes the 2025–26 operating budget and projections through 2029–30. City staff told council members they built the plan conservatively because of state-level fiscal uncertainty flagged by the Legislative Analyst’s Office and ongoing inflationary pressures.

Key highlights presented by staff include: - Total citywide budget (all funds) presented at about $36.8 million, with the general fund making up roughly 48% of expenditures. - General fund revenue of just over $18 million, with sales tax (including Measure S) accounting for approximately $9.2 million, or about 51% of general fund revenue. - Public safety (police plus the Kern County Fire contract) projected to reach roughly 50% of general fund spending next year; the council said maintaining that threshold was a fiscal priority. - The budget assumes modest personnel cost increases: a 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment for unrepresented and certain represented employees and the police MOU just approved (5% in year one for represented police staff). - Two new full-time utility maintenance technician positions in wastewater (previously factored into wastewater rate studies) and a part‑time police records clerk are included. An intern program through the Economic Development Foundation was also added for a one‑time 320‑hour internship (city pays ~160 hours net after partner reimbursement). - Major capital projects in the next two years include pedestrian and sidewalk work (Valley and Mill gap closure), the Tucker/Highland roundabout, Measure S paving projects and airport runway/taxiway rehabilitation, with airports projects expected to be mostly federally funded (FAA grants) but requiring local matching funds.

Jones told the council the city’s water and sewer funds are forecast to run temporary deficits when large capital projects occur but recover as new rates kick in and reserves rebuild. For example, the water fund shows a near-term deficit primarily related to the Snyder/Mojave Wells transmission line project, while new water rates are expected to produce surpluses in later years.

Council members and residents asked questions about sales-tax volatility, accounting corrections related to Amazon fulfillment center allocations in county pools (which lowered 2024–25 Bradley‑Burns receipts), and how the city budgets for salary savings and vacant positions. Staff said they generally budget full-year positions unless a hire is expected midyear, then adjust at midyear reporting.

A resident asked whether police spending will consume a large share of Measure S revenue; staff said Measure S was adopted by voters in 2022 to prioritize public safety and infrastructure and that projected increases in public-safety spending were anticipated in the measure’s revenue plan.

Staff also described several enterprise funds: water (projected rate-driven revenue increases, major transmission and pressure-zone boundary work), wastewater (new rates and a planned biosolids/biosolvent handling system), airport (operating deficits offset by a general‑fund transfer and federal grants for runway work) and refuse (rates updated last year and projected to produce surpluses).

Ending: Staff closed the presentation by noting that adoption of the final budget at a future council meeting will also include a salary schedule resolution and several job descriptions; council members thanked staff for the work. No final adoption vote on the full budget package is recorded in the transcript excerpt.