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Chino council adopts midterm budget update; Measure V cited for reversing projected deficit
Summary
On Jan. 21 the City Council adopted a midterm update to the FY 2024–25 budget and set the appropriations limit, with staff saying Measure V sales-tax revenue turned an expected $7 million deficit into an approximately $150,000 surplus and added capital project funding.
The Chino City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 21 to adopt a midterm budget update for fiscal year 2024–25 and to adopt the city’s appropriations limit. City staff said new Measure V sales-tax revenue and adjustments to prior allocations changed the city’s projection from a roughly $7 million deficit when the two-year budget was adopted to an approximately $150,000 surplus in the updated forecast.
City Manager Linda Reich and financial consultant June Overholt presented the update. Reich told the council that after the 2023 audit flagged a going-concern issue the city asked voters to approve Measure V; the measure’s revenue has materially changed the outlook. "When we approved the [two-year] budget in June of ’23, we anticipated a $7,000,000 deficit. The update we're bringing to you today shows an approximately $150,000 surplus," Reich said.
Nut graf: The midterm update adjusts staffing and spending, allocates Measure V revenue between operations and capital projects, and adds projects to the capital-improvement plan while recommending a temporary return to a one-year budget cycle for this budget process.
Key figures and staff recommendations presented to the council: - Measure V: staff estimated roughly $28 million in Measure V sales-tax receipts for the fiscal year and recommended spending $26 million of that amount. - Allocation: staff recommended that about 40% of Measure V spending cover operational needs (including classification/compensation adjustments and converting some part-time positions to full time) and about 60% go to capital projects for infrastructure and other multiyear work. - Capital program: midterm update adds about $38 million in projects to reach roughly $115 million in total projects; staff noted $76 million of projects had been previously approved and that many projects are multiyear. - Staffing: the presentation included multiple staffing adjustments intended to right-size operations and address retention; many suggested changes convert part-time roles to full time. - Fiscal change: the midterm update replaces a previously forecast $7 million deficit with an approximately $150,000 surplus for the amended budget period, after audit adjustments and Measure V revenue.
"I feel like this is a really good milestone for the city," financial consultant June Overholt told the council, noting the midterm update uses completed audit balances and corrected a pension allocation error in previous budgeting.
Council members pressed for clarity on the capital program timetable and asked that large, multi-year projects be footnoted so the reports do not give the impression those sums are single-year expenditures. Staff agreed to add footnotes and to break major projects into multi-year schedules once design and construction timelines are known.
The council approved the midterm update by motion (moved by Councilperson Comstock, seconded by Councilperson Lucio). The vote was recorded as unanimous.
