Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Seaside finance director reports steady early revenues, preliminary surplus and planned use of reserves
Summary
Finance Director Jessie Riley presented Seaside’s preliminary first-quarter FY25-26 report showing modest revenue growth in sales and TOT, continued strength in property taxes, and a planned draw on fund balance to support capital and street maintenance; the report is unaudited and staff recommended monitoring personnel and pension pressures.
Finance Director Jessie Riley presented a condensed first-quarter financial report for fiscal year 2025–26, telling the City Council the figures are preliminary and unaudited.
Riley said the adopted general fund for FY25‑26 includes approximately $48.3 million in operating revenues and about $48.2 million in operating expenditures, and that the adopted budget anticipates using about $1.8 million of fund balance—including roughly $615,000 for capital improvements and about $1.16 million for street maintenance.
Riley highlighted first-quarter results: roughly $2.0 million in sales and use tax collections (about 2% growth year over year), approximately $1.7 million in property tax receipts, and about $938,000 in transient occupancy tax (TOT) collections, which she said showed signs of recovery compared with the previous year. She cautioned that first-quarter totals are not fully representative because many revenue streams post later in the fiscal year.
On expenditures, Riley told the council total general‑fund spending for the quarter was roughly $10.1 million—about 18% of the annual budget—and that personnel services remain the largest cost driver (about three‑quarters of general fund expenditures). Personnel costs were below budget in the quarter because of vacancies, but Riley said hires in police and fire may raise personnel spending in later quarters.
Riley projected the city’s total fund balance at approximately $29.1 million at fiscal year end, with an unassigned fund balance near $6.6 million; she noted those projections depend on ongoing revenue trends and on controlling rising pension and other personnel costs.
Council members pressed staff for details about how property taxes are distributed and whether Seaside receives a fixed share of the 1% statewide levy; Riley said distribution is complex, depends on assessed value and successor‑agency pass‑throughs, and that a typical city share of the 1% levy can be in the mid‑teens percentage range of the 1% after allocations to other entities. Riley and staff also explained that cannabis tax receipts have declined as neighboring jurisdictions licensed sales and prices normalized.
The council thanked staff for a “well‑done” update and asked for the midyear budget review to follow the schedule staff proposed (midyear review in March with additional reporting in February once audited statements are available).
