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Twentynine Palms finance director previews preliminary two‑year general fund budget; warns pension and sheriff costs could squeeze reserves
Summary
Finance Director Abigail presented a preliminary two‑year general fund budget showing modest surpluses in the draft but flagged rising pension liabilities and possible sheriff contract increases that could eliminate the surplus if the council adds staffing.
Twentynine Palms City Finance Director Abigail presented the city’s preliminary two‑year general fund budget to the City Council on May 20, laying out projected revenues, program subsidies and potential cost pressures that could turn the draft surplus into a shortfall.
The preliminary draft projects a surplus of about $213,000 in fiscal year 2025–26 and roughly $77,000 in 2026–27, Abigail said, and she emphasized the presentation was for review only; no approvals were requested at the meeting.
The nut of the presentation: property tax and vehicle license fee revenue remain the budget’s largest sources (Abigail listed a combined figure she described as about $4.7 million for vehicle license fees, $3.4 million for property tax, $1.9 million for transient occupancy tax and $1.6 million for sales tax). Program revenues for animal control and community services are heavily subsidized, she…
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