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Chino Valley council reviews $48.3M tentative budget; town proposes hiring freezes to buffer WIFA loan capacity
Summary
Town staff presented a tentative FY2026-27 budget of $48,345,342 that includes capacity for a WIFA loan for PFAS remediation. Staff proposed a hard freeze on non-police positions and a soft freeze on police positions to manage ongoing expenses and rollovers; council discussed reserves, rollovers and next steps toward adoption in late June/July.
Chino Valley town staff presented a tentative FY2026-27 budget of $48,345,342 at the May 12 council study session, highlighting the need to preserve fund balance while creating budget capacity for a potential Water Infrastructure Finance Authority loan tied to PFAS remediation.
The manager said the preliminary budget increases include planning for a WIFA loan application and that the towns actual cash obligation for the PFAS project is expected to be modest (about $500,000) if the WIFA/ADQ funding is approved. Staff proposed a hard freeze on non-police positions (positions remain in the budget but cannot be filled without council action) and a soft freeze on police positions (manager can authorize hires for urgent operational needs with notice to council). The manager said the approach balances near-term fiscal caution with operational flexibility for police staffing.
Staff reported a planned draw on fund balance of approximately $776,300 (less than last year) attributed to one-time expenditures and rollovers for multi-year projects such as the integrated water master plan, zoning code rewrite and plant expansion engineering. Staff emphasized ongoing revenues are budgeted to cover ongoing expenses.
Council members questioned how the Y Plan (regional MPO) contribution and other placeholders affect reserves and asked for clearer revenue slides; staff said operating revenues would be provided ahead of the May 26 tentative adoption. The manager reviewed the adoption schedule: tentative adoption May 26, public notice and hearings in June, and final adoption and setting of any tax rates in July.
The council did not take a final vote on the tentative budget May 12 but directed staff to return on May 26 with the tenative adoption item and further detail on enterprise fund impacts, O&M for PFAS media replacement, and the revenue picture.
