Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Fiscal topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cerritos OKs CDBG curb-ramp project; budget kickoff shows multiyear reserve pressure
Summary
Council approved $169,000 in FY26/27 CDBG funding for curb-ramp improvements and heard a budget kickoff showing a 10-year forecast with flat revenues and rising costs; staff and council emphasized the need for revenue strategies and prioritized program decisions.
The council authorized use of approximately $169,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the Los Angeles County Development Authority to fund phase 4 of curb-ramp improvements in the Town Center area. Assistant Director of Public Works Chris Kubert told the council the project will construct or retrofit 19 curb ramps and that LACDA approved the proposal; construction costs are estimated at $162,000 with $7,000 set aside for required federal labor-compliance monitoring. The council adopted the resolution to authorize the allocation (motion passed 5-0).
Immediately after, the council convened a budget kickoff for FY26/27. Director of Administrative Services Drew Snyder and Budget Manager Peter Kemp presented a 10-year forecast prepared with a third-party financial consultant showing slow near-term revenue growth, continued expense pressures (labor, contracts, CalPERS liability), and declining general-fund reserves under a status-quo projection. Kemp said the forecast assumes the water and sewer rate study is fully implemented to phase out general-fund subsidies for the enterprise funds; even with that assumption the gap between revenues and expenditures persists in the coming decade.
Kemp described the forecast as a planning tool: "This long range outlook...is a point in time picture" and noted it is intended to signal options such as reshaping programs, controlling costs or pursuing new revenues. Council members asked for a series of follow-up items and requested staff reports on specific priorities including public-safety equipment, connectivity improvements in the Town Center/CCPA area and potential revenue strategies (including hotel recruitment and sales-tax approaches).
Why it matters: The CDBG project targets accessibility and is federally reimbursable, while the budget forecast identifies a structural fiscal challenge that will shape upcoming decisions about service levels, capital projects and revenue adjustments.
What's next: The curb-ramp project will be reimbursed through LACDA when complete; staff will return with budget workshops and policy options over the coming months.
