Council adopts preliminary general fund budget; several members press for clearer financial reports

The Redding City Council voted to adopt a preliminary general fund and internal service fund budget for fiscal years 2026–27 after a staff presentation and a lengthy council discussion about financial reporting and access to department actuals.

City finance staff, led by Mr. Tippen, presented a carryover budget from the May 6 workshop and summarized the key changes from the draft the council previously reviewed. Tippen said the revised revenue assumptions (lowering revenue growth from 2.55% to 2.0% in the first two budget years) and reductions to police and parks capital spending produced an estimated FY26 surplus of about $1.9 million and roughly $61,000 in FY27. He also warned that four police officer positions currently paid with ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds are expected to be fully exhausted by December 2026 and staff recommends removing that ARPA funding from the FY27 base budget.

The budget presentation included the city’s 10-year plan showing cash reserves remaining above $10 million in the near term but with reserve-percent dips five years out (to about 8.8% at the lowest point). Tippen told the council these longer-range numbers are projections and that keeping a 10% reserve in future years would require service-level adjustments now.

Several council members thanked staff for the work. Vice Mayor Littel moved to “approve the preliminary draft general fund and internal service fund budgets as written.” A council member seconded the motion and the council approved it. Tippen said the final budget will return for adoption on June 17 after staff completes the budget book and enterprise fund presentations.

A major portion of the public and council discussion before the vote focused on the financial reports available to the council and public. One council member said she had requested a specific “actuals” report in an earlier meeting but instead received seven different reports at 4 p.m. the previous evening and asked whether those reports had been posted for public review. Finance staff replied the seven reports were not part of the official agenda packet and therefore had not been posted, but staff offered to publish them and to continue to try to reproduce the older AS/400 “actuals vs. budget” report from the legacy system.

Finance staff explained the city migrated to a new financial system and some legacy reports do not yet come out of the new system in the same format. Greg Robinette and other finance staff said replicating the old AS/400 report has required manual effort and that staff is continuing to build equivalent reporting in the new platform. Council members repeatedly pressed for timely access to department-level actuals and encumbrance information before the final budget vote, saying those details are necessary to identify where additional cuts or shifts could be made.

Council members also sought clarification about where projected shortfalls would be covered. Finance staff said timing and encumbrances explain much of the differences between budgeted expenditures and cash/reserve usage and that staff would provide more detailed quarterly reports and additional materials as requested.

The preliminary budget adoption is procedural: it approves the city’s spending plan in draft form so staff can finish the budget book and bring a final adopted budget to the council on June 17. Tippen and Robinette said staff will continue to refine reports and provide additional actuals and quarterly data to the council and public in advance of the final adoption.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve preliminary draft general fund and internal service fund budgets as written. Mover: Vice Mayor Littel. Second: (recorded as second). Outcome: approved.

Next steps: Staff will publish the additional reports on the city website on request, continue efforts to replicate legacy “actuals vs. budget” reporting from the AS/400 system in the new financial platform, and return a complete budget book for formal adoption on June 17.