Albany staff begin multi-year review of taxes, fees and bonds to shore up city services

Albany City Council members heard a detailed kickoff presentation July 8 on a multi-year program of potential revenue measures and related actions intended to close structural budget gaps and fund aging infrastructure, parks and facilities.

The discussion centered on a range of options staff said could be pursued over the next three to five years: modernizing the business license tax, studying a sewer enterprise rate update, examining new or reauthorized parcel taxes for street-tree management and street lighting, exploring storm‑drain funding approaches in light of Prop 218 complexities, and investigating bonding for large building projects such as the Veterans Memorial Hall.

Finance Director Rena Schwartz told the council the presentation was intended as a “kickoff” and warned the process will be lengthy. “They are a process. This is a journey,” she said, describing the different legal and implementation rules that apply to each revenue tool and the consultants the city will engage to prepare analyses and ordinance language.

Why it matters: Albany’s operating budget is balanced for FY25–26 but staff said a…