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Salinas releases FY 2025–26 proposed budget; council asked staff for follow‑ups on CIP, reserves and program metrics
Summary
Finance presented a FY 2025–26 proposed budget on May 27 that holds a roughly $275.3 million citywide package with a general fund operating budget near $186.7 million, a focus on maintaining reserves and incremental department investments; council asked for more dashboards and project‑by‑project CIP detail.
Finance staff presented the City of Salinas proposed Fiscal Year 2025–26 budget to the council during the May 27 study session, outlining the revenue, expenditure and capital plans and highlighting pressure points from rising salaries and expiring grant revenues.
Finance Director Selena Andrews and Assistant Finance Director A. Pedroza described the proposed citywide budget of about $275.3 million and a general‑fund operating budget of roughly $186.7 million. Salaries and benefits account for the largest share of the operating budget (approximately $125.9 million, about 67% of general fund expenditures). Sales and property taxes are the largest revenue sources, together providing the majority of general fund receipts; the proposal maintains a contingency and includes a recommended $1.3 million added contribution to the economic contingency reserve to preserve a policy target.
Key department highlights and requests included staffing and program priorities across strategic support, community development, public works, police, fire and library/community services: community development asked for conversion of a part‑time senior planner to full time to support processing in the future growth area; HR and administration positions for the airport and economic development were reorganized; police and fire requested staffing and equipment tied to service demands and long lead times for apparatus procurement. The proposed CIP was shown at about $21.1 million in new allocation, with a larger amount carried forward from prior years; street and sidewalk funding, traffic signals, storm sewer and station improvements were among line items noted.
Directors emphasized that much capital work is grant‑supported or phased (carryover and multi‑year commitments), and staff said they will bring cost/revenue assumptions and dashboards for council review. Councilmembers requested clearer dashboards showing year‑over‑year salary/benefit growth, project‑level status for CIP items, and clarified that certain revenue risks exist (FEMA reimbursements, state/federal grant volatility) that could affect FY 2026–27 plans.
Ending: Council directed staff to return with follow‑up materials — a program‑level dashboard, details on CIP phasing and carryover, options to increase pavement/sidewalk work and staffing implications — in advance of budget adoption.
