Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Budgets Departments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City departments outline FY27 budget priorities and maintenance needs
Summary
Planning, permitting, IT, the Jetport and parks departments presented FY27 highlights: record housing approvals and digital tools (Planning); permit and rental licensing activity with a $5 LTR fee proposal (Permitting & Inspections); modest IT increases and cybersecurity investment (IT); new transcontinental air service and maintenance-driven airport expense increases (Jetport); and a parks budget gap of roughly $5.8 million (Parks & Rec).
Multiple city departments presented highlights of their proposed FY27 operating budgets and key program changes during the Finance Committee meeting.
Kevin Craft, Director of Planning & Urban Development, said his 17‑FTE department seeks a modest net budget increase of about 7.5% driven primarily by payroll and benefits; he described record permitting and approvals in 2025, digital tools launched to improve transparency, and upcoming work including a comprehensive-plan update and a coastal flood-resiliency overlay design guide. Craft referenced implementation of recent state legislation (LD 18 29) that will come before council for further action.
Jessica Quattropani, Director of Permitting & Inspections, said the department processed 5,603 permits in FY25 and managed nearly 19,673 rental-unit licenses in 2025; she noted 917 short-term rentals in 2025 and 841 so far this year. She explained an ordinance that reclassifies short-term rentals and described proposed revenue changes including a requested $5 increase in long-term rental registration (anticipated to raise about $100,000 annually) and a $15,000 tenant-notification postcard the department plans to continue for rent‑control outreach. Quattropani said the department hired a second rent‑control inspector last fall and expects inspection capacity to increase accordingly.
Phil Doughty, IT Director, said IT expenditures would increase 1.73% with a net budget impact of roughly 0.76%. He proposed hiring a data systems engineer to accelerate data modernization and described an investment in a vulnerability-management tool to improve cybersecurity posture and meet CJIS and HIPAA obligations.
Paul Bradbury, Airport Director, reported 2025 as a record year for passenger boardings, announced summer transcontinental routes to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and gave airport financial context: a projected revenue increase of about 4.7% for FY27 and higher expenses (about 16.47%) largely driven by an earlier-than-expected $3.5 million terminal roof replacement. He cited an economic-impact figure of about $1,175,000,000 annually supporting more than 10,000 jobs and an estimated $84,500,000 in local and state tax impact. Bradbury emphasized maintaining robust debt-service coverage to preserve the airport's improved credit rating.
Ethan Hippel, Director of Parks, Recreation & Facilities, outlined a department with roughly 168.8 FTEs and said proposed expenditures are about $22.4 million with revenues near $16.5 million, leaving a taxpayer-supported gap of approximately $5.8 million. He described shifting custodial services into Public Buildings & Waterfront for operational consistency and said anticipated revenue increases in golf, cemeteries, cruises and aquatics helped reduce the net gap.
No departmental budgets were amended in committee; the presentations served as briefings ahead of council-level reviews and scheduling for the formal budget process.
