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Calistoga finance director outlines budget, investments and new ERP rollout
Summary
Administrative Services Director Connie Cardenas briefed the Calistoga City Council on the finance departmentoperations, investments and planned ERP implementation ahead of the fiscal-year budget.
Connie Cardenas, CalistogaAdministrative Services Director, told the City Council on May 20 that the finance department is completing midyear budget work and preparing for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that staff say will reduce manual entry and improve fiscal controls.
The presentation summarized daily finance operations, the capital improvement program (CIP) structure, outstanding debt and the citydepartment responsibilities. Cardenas said the city has about almost $28,000,000 invested in LAIF (Local Agency Investment Fund) managed by the State Treasurer and that this yearreturned an average interest rate of 4.44%.
Cardenas reviewed the timing of the annual budget cycle (starting in January) and said midyear updates usually surface new grants and unplanned expenditures. She described the separate CIP programs for the general fund, water and wastewater, and noted that water and wastewater rely primarily on user fees and grants. She said the cityis finishing a phased debt schedule and that general-fund bond payments will run for four more years.
Cardenas highlighted an upcoming ERP implementation that she said will replace outdated financial systems and reduce triple data entry across departments. The ERP rollout is expected to enable monthly residential utility billing, internal processing of business licenses and improved project and grant accounting. She also told the council the city triggered a federal single audit for fiscal 202324 because federal expenditures exceeded $750,000 (primarily ARPA and a wastewater grant) and that the city has budgeted about $25,000 for a transient-occupancy-tax (TOT) audit in the next fiscal year.
Council members asked whether audit and budget documents are publicly available; Cardenas said budget and audit reports are posted online and that the single audit will be posted when completed. Councilmember questions also covered the citycredit rating process and whether timely filings to EMMA and other reporting platforms influence ratings. Cardenas said timely reporting and demonstrated cash flow were key elements cited by rating agencies.
Cardenas closed by reiterating the finance departmentplan to continue five-year forecasting and to present regular updates to the council as they prepare the proposed budget for adoption in June.
