El Cajon projects a multi-year budget gap; council accepts five‑year business plan update

Finance staff presented the fiscal-year 2024–25 five‑year business plan update to the El Cajon City Council on April 8. The council received and unanimously accepted the report.

Principal finance analyst Autumn Reberger and Finance Director Clay Chan said the plan uses historical results and consultant projections to model revenues and expenditures and that projections carry less confidence in later years. The update incorporates the Measure J renewal and projects a general‑fund shortfall of roughly $4 million for the next fiscal year under a baseline of no changes. Staff showed total fund balance declining from about $61 million in FY 2025 to about $50.5 million in FY 2029 under those assumptions.

The presentation highlighted that public-safety personnel costs have grown while other departmental spending has remained largely flat. Staff outlined near‑term budgeting steps: departments were asked to submit budgets 1% below last year as a starting point and were likely to be asked to identify additional cuts of roughly 4–5% to reduce the gap. The city manager and staff discussed using reserves designated for economic downturns for temporary support but stressed such reserves should not be used for ongoing costs.

Staff offered examples of potential savings and policy choices under consideration, including canceling or reimagining large special events (America on Main Street), pausing some sinking‑fund contributions for roofs or fleet replacement, shifting the mailed city newsletter to an online format and seeking more sponsorships for community events. Council members emphasized preserving essential services such as police and fire and noted the difficulty of cutting high-impact community events. Staff said the preliminary FY 2025–26 budget would be introduced in June with adoption targeted later in the month.

After discussion, a council member moved to accept the five‑year business plan update; the motion carried unanimously.