Marysville council approves midyear budget amendments after finance report on county payment delays

The Marysville City Council voted to approve midyear amendments to the FY2025–26 General Fund, Street Fund and Wastewater Fund budgets following a detailed presentation from Finance Director Anissa Leung.

Leung told the council the report covered city financial activity through Dec. 31, 2025, and emphasized that timing differences with Yuba County had left property-tax apportionments recorded as $0 at that reporting date. She said the city had since received funds and that “as of 04/21/2026, the city has received approximately $2,000,000 to date.” Leung also noted a prior-year late apportionment of about $2,800,000 that arrived in November 2025.

Mayor Chris Branscomb and other council members pressed staff on remedies and potential costs from the delays. Branscomb said the late payments impose opportunity costs, urging stronger follow-up and possible legal remedies: “We are still injured and we can demonstrate the injury,” he said, calling for urgency and, if needed, stronger action than repeated requests.

Leung walked through revenue and expenditure highlights: through Dec. 31 the city had received roughly 29.4% of budgeted revenues on a cash basis and expended about 43.8% of the General Fund budget (about $8.09 million). She flagged $130,000 in excess permit revenue tied to downtown development activity and said Measure G and Measure F revenues were performing differently: Measure G receipts were linked to local construction and commerce, while statewide Bradley-Burns sales tax showed a modest decline.

On expenditures, Leung identified major non-departmental costs including debt service (approximately $2.2 million) and noted efforts to improve accounting, allocation of payroll across funds, and implementation of an encumbrance system for better tracking.

Council members asked for follow-up analyses: Branscomb requested a calculation of lost interest or delta on late county payments, and others asked for more detail on the construction permits driving increased revenue and on vehicle-lease financing that may have carried higher-than-necessary rates.

After discussion, a motion to adopt the proposed budget amendments passed on a voice/roll call vote. The council directed staff to prepare follow-up items addressing county apportionment timing, potential remedies, and detailed analyses of lease financing and revenue offsets.

The midyear approval leaves open the next steps of implementing the accounting reclassifications and reporting back to council on the specified follow-ups.