La Verne staff present balanced $48.9 million FY 2024–25 budget, flag water and pension pressures

La Verne city staff on Monday presented a proposed $48,900,000 fiscal year 2024–25 budget that the city manager and finance director described as balanced only by using $1,180,000 of assigned fund balance and a set of department-level reductions and hiring pauses.

Finance Director Christy Lopez told the council the document is a proposal and can be revised: "This is just the proposed budget, so we can include anything that you may want to be changed," she said. Lopez summarized key revenue changes — a 4% property‑tax increase (about $600,000), a 2% sales‑tax uptick (about $100,000) and a 9% rise in recreation fees — but warned major cost pressures remain, notably a jump in unfunded accrued liability (UAL) payments.

Lopez said the UAL payment on the books for 2024–25 rises to $860,000 from $10,000 last year, a change she described as "a huge increase" that will materially affect the general fund. She also noted the proposed budget would add roughly $600,000 to reserves due to higher expenditures and described assigned fund‑balance recommendations the city manager provided to cover one year of benefit obligations.

City Manager Dohmer and staff emphasized the budget’s limits: departments identified about $956,000 in unfunded operational and capital requests (excluding personnel) that the city is not recommending at this time, and several capital items were moved or delayed. Lopez described Measure LV allocations, including $143,000 proposed for capital outlay, and said some Measure LV items were shifted based on anticipated savings and immediate needs.

The presentation also flagged enterprise‑fund stress. Lopez said enterprise funds — notably water — must carry significant unfunded liabilities on their books and that the approved budget anticipates water expenditures will outpace revenues by approximately $2,900,000 this year. "That is why that water study is going to be very important," she said, referring to an upcoming cost‑of‑service/rate study.

Department heads walked council through service‑level implications. The fire chief presented a 5.4% operational increase driven by inflation, a fleet replacement program and a mandatory LA Regional Communications subscription; he reported cost‑recovery revenues are at historical highs (about $1,800,000) and proposed a 3‑person paramedic squad as a lower‑cost alternative to adding a staffed engine company.

The police chief framed a 6.4% personnel cost increase and a 5.6% operating increase as steps to preserve public‑safety service levels. He cited a recent Matrix staffing study and requested a set of position adjustments (community services officer, lieutenant and a support‑services manager) while describing technology pilots — including a body‑camera‑linked AI tool to generate reports — intended to cut report‑writing overtime by up to 50%.

Public Works Director McWade highlighted the city’s infrastructure portfolio and said two assessment districts are in deficit and headed to public votes; he described a five‑year capital improvement plan that lists about $111 million in needs, with $26.84 million of carryover and new funding requests for the coming year. McWade said the city is close to finalizing consultants for a water cost‑of‑service study and is pursuing grant opportunities, including a federally recommended $19 million toward a pedestrian bridge project.

Community services and community development directors described largely status‑quo operations, noted grants and one‑time funding sources that cover specialty services (including an inclusion grant enabling La Verne to serve as a vendor for special‑needs swim lessons) and signaled a cautious approach to any new permanent hires.

City manager Dohmer closed by reiterating the budget is balanced today but fragile over a 10‑year horizon, and he asked council to provide direction ahead of a scheduled vote on adoption at the June 17 meeting. "We're proposing a $48,900,000 general fund budget that is balanced. It is balanced using some of the unassigned fund balances," he said.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the study session; council recessed at 6:28 p.m. and planned to reconvene for regular meeting business.

What’s next: staff and councilmembers said they will review requested adjustments and return for a public hearing and potential adoption on June 17.