Signal Hill council reviews draft biennial budget and $473,000 in year‑one decision packets

At a budget study session, Deputy City Manager Yvette Aghilar and the finance director presented the city’s draft biennial operating and capital budget and a slate of “decision packages” staff recommends for year one and year two.

The presentation said the year‑one decision packets total $473,000 and the year‑two ask is $350,000; staff told the council $113,000 of the year‑one ask would come from the general fund. Staff described the budget as “structurally balanced” on the slides shown to the council and noted the city’s reserve position is above its stated threshold (staff presentation cited a combined reserve level near 102% of proposed expenditures under the current assumptions). “The budget is guided by the goals and objectives established by the city’s five‑year plan,” Deputy City Manager Yvette Aghilar said, describing priorities that include economic development and public safety.

Key decision‑package requests included a police breathalyzer and printer (staff identified a purchase request of about $12,000), a cloud‑based fuel‑management upgrade (about $40,000 from the fleet fund), and a proposed annual alley‑improvement allocation of approximately $250,000 per year to address the city’s 73 alleys (staff estimated base construction costs for the program at roughly $2,500,000). Staff also identified a $70,000 request from art/event reserves to fund the amphitheater grand‑opening and a separate fall concert.

Finance staff outlined revenue assumptions and diversification efforts: staff said the city has pursued an asset‑management agreement and new advertising and bus‑shelter revenue streams to augment one‑time revenue, and described investment income averaging roughly $3,000,000 annually over the last four years as an important but not guaranteed source of funds. The presentation also noted nearly $15,000,000 in grant funding the city has secured for projects including Willow Corridor improvements and reservoir or storm‑water capture work, and about $11,000,000 in pending grant requests.

On program details, the finance director said the Water Fund is run like an enterprise fund and staff estimate an ending cash balance for the water fund of about $2,400,000 under the proposed plan. When asked whether the city has a formal Water Fund reserve policy, staff replied there is no separate formal policy but the water rate study provides minimum thresholds staff use as guidance.

Council members commended staff for a conservative approach. Council Member Keir Jones said, “All departments really dug in deep and looked for what was nice and what was necessary,” while Vice Mayor Charles Honeycutt praised the city’s results relative to other jurisdictions. Council members asked several follow‑up questions about contracting for alley repairs (staff: program will be competitively bid with public‑works oversight), how projected water sales line up with recent rate increases (staff: it is early but the rate study incorporated conservative consumption assumptions), and whether the budget accounts for new remote‑participation requirements under Senate Bill 707 (staff: yes, subscriptions and IT support were included).

No formal votes or ordinance adoptions were recorded during the session. Staff agreed to return with an itemized breakdown of the amphitheater launch costs and other clarifying details at the council’s June budget adoption meeting.