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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 balance the current plan; Cardenas said the budget now shows a modest $39,000 surplus and a general-fund reserve at about 44.5% (policy target 50%).
The council reviewed several notable line items: fairgrounds operations are budgeted with total fairgrounds expenses of about $1.3 million and estimated fairgrounds revenue of about $800,000, leaving an expected general-fund impact of approximately $822,000; the proposed budget includes $460,000 of equipment purchases charged to the general fund; and the citys capital improvement program from the general fund is about $2.8 million for the coming year.
Public commenters raised funding priorities and questioned allocations to the Chamber of Commerce and upcoming capital projects such as the South Oak pedestrian bridge. Tim Moore urged fiscal restraint; a resident asked whether the bridge is a pedestrian facility and Director Rayner confirmed the current allocation is for design and permitting (roughly $570,000) and not for construction.
Fire staffing and overtime was a central part of the debate. Fire Chief Matrim reported that 2024 overtime costs to cover staffing gaps totaled about $206,000 and that additional wages for part-time employees were about $225,000. Chief Matrim and councilmembers discussed a staff recommendation to move from a primarily part-time model to three full-time firefighter positions; councilmembers and the public weighed the safety benefits against fiscal constraints and the council asked staff to present a detailed implementation plan and fiscal analysis for that proposal at a future meeting.
Councilmembers said they were broadly supportive of the budget process but cautioned about drawing reserves down in uncertain economic conditions. Vice Mayor Lopez Ortega and other members requested a review of management-level positions to identify possible reallocation of resources toward frontline services. City staff said formal adoption would be brought back to the council at the next regular meeting after technical corrections and to memorialize previously given direction in resolution form.
No formal adoption occurred that night. Mayor Williams said staff will return with corrected materials and a resolution that incorporates council direction before a final vote.
