Council adopts preliminary budget; members press staff for clearer financial reports

Redding City Council approved a preliminary general fund and internal service fund budget and received presentations on enterprise fund budgets for Redding Electric Utility, public works (water, wastewater, storm drain and solid waste) and the airport. Council members pressed finance staff to produce clearer actuals and the historic reports they said are needed to judge budget trade-offs.

City finance staff presented the preliminary general fund budget and a 10-year projection. The staff presentation said the recommended adjustments to revenue growth (reducing assumed revenue growth from 2.5% to 2.0% in the near years) and reductions to some police and capital spending produce a preliminary surplus of about $1.9 million in the first year and roughly $61,000 in the second year. Staff noted the city’s starting cash is estimated at about $9.0 million and warned that reserves dip in later years of the 10‑year forecast — hitting about 8.8% at the lowest point — and that projections are subject to change.

The staff presentation also said four police positions currently funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money would not be funded by the general fund after the ARPA dollars are exhausted at the end of 2026, and staff recommended removing the ARPA-funded positions from the base budget starting Jan. 1, 2027. Staff also reported some capital purchases in the police and parks budgets were deferred or staggered to reduce near-term expenditures.

Why it matters: The preliminary budget sets the city’s spending plan that will be refined before the final adoption in June. Council members said they need detailed, timely actuals to make…