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Calistoga council reviews FY25-26 budget; finance director warns of potential $1.1 million vehicle-license-fee loss
Summary
Finance Director Cardenas presented a FY25-26 budget showing a narrow surplus and flagged a possible loss of about $1.1 million in vehicle-license-fee (VLF) revenue; council debated staffing, reserves and fire-department options but postponed formal adoption to a later meeting.
The Calistoga City Council reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget during a lengthy discussion that included revenue history, departmental expenses and program priorities. Director of Finance Laura Cardenas summarized the five-year revenue and expense picture and said the city is projecting transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue near $11.9 million for the coming year.
Cardenas told the council that a possible future reduction or elimination of the vehicle-license-fee (VLF) allocation could remove roughly $1.1 million, or about 5% of the general fund, and asked members to consider the risk to reserves if that revenue is lost. The proposed budget uses a $438,000 transfer of development-impact fees tied to a prior fire-engine purchase to…
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