Oxnard staff recommends midyear budget amendments, $4 million liability transfer and CIP addition

Assistant Chief Financial Officer Thomas Liu presented the City of Oxnards FY 2025—6 to 2026 midyear budget review on Feb. 17, outlining staffs recommendation that the City Council receive an update on revenue and expenditure projections and approve a set of midyear amendments across multiple funds.

Liu said revenues overall remain "stable with an updated forecast showing a modest increase in sales tax, which helps offset declines in franchise fees and transient occupancy tax." He attributed most near-term expenditure pressure to personnel costs in police and fire departments and to a concentration of liability-case settlements this year. "Available fund balance is sufficient to offset each of these adjustments," Liu said.

Among the midyear adjustments staff proposed, the presentation identifies a recommended transfer to the Public Liability and Property Insurance Fund of up to $4,000,000 and increases to pension and OPEB contributions (listed in the presentation as $1,100,000 and $250,000). Liu said these and other changes result in a recommended use of approximately $8,100,000 of fund balance to support midyear adjustments.

Staff also recommended an $8,132,324 increase in general fund expenditure appropriations from available fund balance. Other proposed actions described in Lius presentation include adjustments to the Street Maintenance Infrastructure Use Fee Fund following removal of the infrastructure use fee from solid waste single-family residential rates; matched increases to revenues and appropriations in the Special Districts Fund; additional appropriations in the Transportation Development Act fund and the Capital Outlay Fund; and changes tied to development impact fees related to the 101 Logistics Center project.

Environmental Resources staff reported revenues trending slightly below budget driven primarily by lower gate fees at Del Norte, and the presentation proposed a decrease in the infrastructure use fee transfer (stated as a $2,000,000 reduction in the staff remarks) and corresponding reductions to appropriation. The Golf Fund is requesting approximately $2,800,000 in one-time capital adjustments funded from golf reserves, with no general fund support requested.

Liu also proposed adding and adopting an Environmental Resources roll-up door replacement project to the FY 2025—6 to 2026 Capital Improvement Program.

The package described in the presentation was framed as a staff recommendation for council consideration; no council action or vote appears in the transcript. Liu closed by previewing the next budget process steps, saying staff has started the process and is "targeting June for the hearing and budget adoption."