Bakersfield council reviews proposed FY 2025–26 budget; managers recommend hold on several projects, referral to housing trust fund for shelter funding

City Manager Clegg presented the Bakersfield City Council with the recommended fiscal year 2025–26 budget on May 28, saying the packet includes a final capital improvement program and options the council discussed in workshops.

The recommended budget keeps the city’s accounts balanced ahead of the formal public hearing in June and the scheduled budget adoption on June 25. Clegg told the council the capital outlay fund — financed primarily from general revenues including transient occupancy taxes — has $5,000,000 available, and staff recommends $2,000,000 of that for street resurfacing.

“The capital outlay fund projects are $2,000,000 for street resurfacing,” Clegg said, and he emphasized the city supplements that amount with other sources. “We have dollars: $8,000,000 of state gas tax fund money, $9,400,000 of SB1 gas tax funding, and several million dollars of other miscellaneous funding,” he said.

Why it matters: Council members pressed staff on whether the budget preserves long-term pavement-management goals and how the city is using public-safety-vital-services (PSVS) tax revenue. The PSVS program and related recurring operating costs are large budget drivers; council members voiced concern about relying on PSVS to support ongoing general-fund operations.

Council member Gonzales said having a balanced budget is notable in the current statewide environment, but raised detail questions on streets funding and the maintenance cycle. “If we know that a street has a life cycle anywhere from 8 to 15 years … and we have around 2,100 miles of road in the city,” Gonzalez said, asking how the city tracks pavement life and prioritizes resurfacing.

Clegg described the city’s pavement management approach: the city uses a pavement management index prepared by consultants that rates every roadway and helps prioritize repairs. He said a mix of preventative maintenance and resurfacing extends pavement life and that current materials prices have reduced the city’s ability to catch up on deferred maintenance. “With the funding that we receive on an annual basis in the last few years, we’ve actually been able to make a little bit of progress,” Clegg said. “At $2,000,000 … we hold the line.”

Open Door Network and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund: The recommended book includes a $2,500,000 capital outlay entry for the Open Door Network shelter. Council member Gonzales proposed a referral to use money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which staff said currently holds about $6.5 million and would be an eligible source under the fund’s criteria. Gonzales asked staff to present that change as a recommendation with the final budget, and Clegg said moving the shelter allocation into the trust fund would increase the administration’s midyear reserve.

Council direction and operating reductions: Several council members pressed for staff follow-ups. Council member Beshear Tash asked for organizational charts and key performance indicators by department to understand how funds produce outcomes. Council member Weir raised strong concerns about the amount of PSVS funds that have been used for ongoing general-fund costs and urged structural reductions; Clegg replied the administration will implement a hiring freeze and evaluate vacant positions every three months to reduce personnel costs.

Contingent projects and reserves: Clegg recommended holding some park and redevelopment projects as contingent until midyear revenue results are clearer. Staff proposed a $1,300,000 CIP reserve plus another set of contingent projects representing roughly $3,900,000 that would not move forward until the midyear review.

Next steps and referrals: Council made several referrals during the discussion: Gonzales asked staff to include a recommendation to fund the Open Door Network project from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund when the final budget is presented; Gonzales and others requested a follow-up workshop focused on the city’s pavement-management system and lifecycle planning; Beshear Tash asked staff to provide department organizational charts and KPIs; and Clegg announced a hiring freeze on vacant positions to generate multi‑year savings.

Votes and outcome: Council moved to receive and file the budget report; the motion passed unanimously. The council’s formal public hearing on the budget is scheduled for the first meeting in June and final adoption is scheduled for June 25.

What to watch: staff’s midyear revenue review in the winter, the referral outcome on using the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for Open Door Network, and the follow-up pavement-management workshop requested by council.