Rolling Hills Estates projects $221,000 preliminary surplus despite drop in building-permit revenue

At a Rolling Hills Estates City Council meeting, staff reported a preliminary operating surplus of about $221,000 for the current year despite a notable decline in building-permit revenue that accounts for most of the shortfall.

The midyear presentation, given by Robert (staff member), showed the adopted budget had included a $206,000 operating surplus. Staff now project a slightly larger surplus because expenditures are running below budget even as some revenue lines decline, particularly building permits, which staff estimated accounted for roughly a $200,000 shortfall so far this year.

Robert said, “So, big drop. I know that, John worked with the county to get this data for us. Don't know what would have caused that decline.” He added the city is seeing some offset from investment income after shifting funds into short-term instruments: “We did this before last year and we did it again more recently, where we shifted money from our LAFE account into CDE's, short term CDE's to take it, like all of you I'm sure have done.”

Why it matters: the surplus (even if reduced from earlier projections) affects which capital…