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Arcadia council adopts $1.03 million midyear budget amendment to bolster pension stabilization
Summary
The Arcadia City Council on Feb. 17 adopted a $1,030,000 midyear budget amendment to add $1 million to a pension stabilization fund and adjust capital funding, after a finance presentation showing a $4.7M prior‑year surplus and improved pension funded status.
Arcadia’s City Council voted unanimously Feb. 17 to adopt a midyear budget amendment that adds $1,000,000 to the city’s pension stabilization fund and amends general‑fund and capital budgets by $1,030,000.
Finance Director Henry Chen told the council the city closed FY 2024–25 with a $4.7 million surplus and a general‑fund balance of about $83 million. After projecting revenue and expenditure changes for FY 2025–26, Chen said the city expects an operating surplus of roughly $1.8 million for the year and recommended shifting $1 million of that surplus into the pension stabilization account as a prudent long‑term step.
Chen said the city’s pension funded status improved by about $17.1 million in the prior year, driven largely by investment returns that outperformed the assumed rate; the fund is now roughly 88–89% funded. He also described equipment and capital carryforward mechanics and noted that some equipment purchases (ambulances and other heavy items) are funded by the equipment‑replacement fund and do not change the general fund bottom line.
Councilmembers pressed staff for clarifications about how prior years’ unspent capital and equipment budgets carry forward; staff explained that about $9 million of previously authorized capital/equipment remained unspent and that an estimated $2 million of that will be spent this year while the remainder will be carried forward as planned. Chen said pension liabilities are amortized over multi‑decade schedules (commonly 20–30 years) and the city maintained 0 firefighter vacancies reported by the fire chief.
Councilmember Michael Kao moved, and Councilmember David Fu seconded, to receive and file the midyear budget review and adopt Resolution No. 7,674 authorizing the appropriation; the motion passed on a unanimous roll‑call vote. The resolution directs the requested transfers and a $30,000 funding‑source change for an Eisenhower Park resurfacing project.
