City manager outlines budget process, warns of rising insurance and limited capital picks

City Manager Christian Clegg told the Bakersfield City Council on May 5 that the city will present a balanced fiscal year 2025–26 proposed budget after May workshops and a public hearing in June, but warned that rising insurance and workers' compensation costs are driving large increases in several internal service accounts.

Clegg told council members the budget team will bring a longer list of potential capital projects to the May 19 workshop and ask the council to choose a smaller subset for funding. He said revenues are “fairly flat” while costs are increasing, and staff has cut discretionary spending and shifted personnel between divisions to present a balanced proposal.

The nut of the presentation was that Bakersfield must manage constrained revenue growth while absorbing unavoidable cost increases. “We have a staff-identified way to bring forward to council a balanced budget,” Clegg said, describing a combination of…