City manager briefs Harbor Commission on budget constraints, waterfront capital priorities

City Manager Mike Wazanski on March 10 told the Redondo Beach Harbor Commission the city will present its annual budget to City Council by the charter deadline of May 16 and is preparing what he called a largely "business as usual" proposal.

Wazanski said the city expects the majority of near-term revenue growth to come from property valuation increases and not sales or transient-occupancy tax, and warned that the Harbor Uplands and Tidelands funds will likely need general‑fund support to remain balanced in the coming year.

The briefing provided early context for the harbor-related portions of the budget, including capital projects the city plans to carry forward and funding priorities staff will present to Council. "We propose our budget, as you know, each year mid May by May 16. That's our charter requirement and we strive to do that again this year," Wazanski said. He told commissioners the general fund is "hovering around a hundred and $10,000,000" and that new labor agreements and increased pension payments are among the expenditure pressures staff must accommodate.

Wazanski highlighted several waterfront items likely to appear in the proposed budget: continuing support for the Harbor Uplands and Tidelands funds, completion of dredging and other recent waterfront capital work, design and grant-seeking for a new boat launch, seismic upgrades for the Fun Factory site, and rehabilitation work at Seaside Lagoon. He said the Army Corps of Engineers project to repair the breakwater appears to be funded and on schedule for delivery this calendar year, pending environmental reviews, and that the city will continue to pursue Department of Boating and Waterways grants for the boat‑launch work. "...once they get through environmental this spring, I think they're hoping to get the repair going, sometime, in 2025," Wazanski said.

On operating costs, Wazanski said the city has been paying annual water‑discharge fines related to Seaside Lagoon and expects that lagoon rehabilitation and related utility work will reduce those fines and operating costs in future years. He said the harbor patrol and marina maintenance personnel are charged to uplands/tidelands funds and that some ongoing costs will remain until revenues fully recover.

Commissioners asked for more granular timing and prioritization and for a short list the Harbor Commission can send to Council. Commissioners formed a three‑member subcommittee to draft a budget "wish list" letter for submission to Council before the budget is finalized in May; the group selected two commissioners and asked staff to forward recent years' letters as templates. The subcommittee will coordinate with staff on timing and return recommendations to the full commission.

Commissioners also raised a range of site‑specific items for potential inclusion in the Harbor Commission letter: low‑cost amenities from the amenities plan (benches, bike racks, wayfinding), continued focus on leasing opportunities to bring tenants to waterfront pads, completion of the Portofino pump station and the partially halted Yacht Club pump work (funded from the city's wastewater fund), and the long‑deferred Moonstone Park improvements. On Moonstone Park, Wazanski confirmed the previously pledged tidelands funds remain identified in the capital program but are not immediately available because the tidelands fund has been used to support operations; a commissioner observed the fund's purchasing power has declined with inflation.

The commission heard that the harbor parking lot study shows a surplus of parking capacity at present (719 spaces on the lot versus an estimated requirement of about 357 spaces for the combined uses), though that surplus will be reduced as Seaside Lagoon use increases and the new boat launch opens.

The commission thanked staff for the early briefing and scheduled the subcommittee to prepare the letter for the April/May Council budget timeline. Wazanski invited further feedback from commissioners between now and the May budget submittal.

Ending: Commissioners and staff signaled they expect to return to the Harbor Commission in April with more detailed project prioritization tied to the council strategic‑plan process and to provide draft language for the subcommittee to review before finalizing its letter to Council.