Finance committee forwards $5 million housing recommendation, asks council for fuller reserve-policy review

The City Finance Committee on June 10 forwarded to the full City Council a recommendation that would keep the city administrator’s proposed $3 million annual allocation to the Local Housing Trust Fund and add a one-time $2 million allocation for fiscal year 2026, producing $5 million available for housing in FY26. The committee also asked the council to schedule a separate, agendized review of the city’s reserve policy.

Committee members and staff framed the vote as a short-term funding step while reserving a fuller, standalone discussion of the reserve policy for a later council meeting. Chair Freeman made the motion, which the committee approved unanimously.

The committee heard a detailed staff presentation about the city’s reserve policy and multiyear general fund forecast from Finance Director Keith DeMartini and budget staff. DeMartini said the city’s formal reserve policy currently targets 25% of annual operating expenditures, composed primarily of a 15% disaster reserve and a 10% contingency reserve, and that under the city administrator’s recommended budget the forecasted reserve levels would fall below that…