Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Glendale adopts $1.29B budget; council keeps Adams Square library open and orders fee-review
Summary
The City Council adopted the FY 2026–27 budget, approving a $1.29 billion citywide plan with a $378 million general fund; council directed staff to keep Adams Square library open, reduce hours at Chevy Chase, and return with a detailed fee-study session within two months.
The Glendale City Council adopted the citywide FY 2026–27 budget on June 23, approving a $1.29 billion spending plan that includes a $378 million general fund budget. Finance staff told the council the plan improves the forecast gap to a projected $2.4 million use of fund balance for FY 2026–27 through a mix of cuts, revenue adjustments and transfers.
Finance Director Jack Myung summarized balancing measures including $7M in departmental cost reductions, $1.6M of planned revenue enhancements (fee changes among them) and service-level adjustments that together narrowed an earlier forecast deficit. The adopted budget includes a proposed transfer of funds into a Section 115 trust as part of longer‑term pension funding strategy and a proposed one‑time $60 million shift from landfill reserve funds to support pension stabilization (staff described this as a structured internal transfer and not immediate general fund expense).
Debate on program reductions focused on community services and libraries. Council directed staff to preserve Adams Square library operations (citing roughly $136,700 in recurring costs if continued under current service levels) and to adopt the proposed reduced hours at the Chevy Chase branch. Council also instructed staff to return within approximately two months with a separate, detailed fee-study session on the proposed fee schedule (staff had listed hundreds of fee changes in the packet, with about 611 fee adjustments under consideration across departments).
Councilmembers and members of the public urged caution about cuts to library hours, aquatic programs and community events, noting community equity and service impacts. Several speakers asked for additional outreach and suggested alternative revenue sources or partnerships for programming such as concerts or community festivals.
The council adopted multiple related resolutions for fee adjustments, appropriations limits and transfers; it also directed staff to bring back a focused review of fees and deeper options for program subsidies and non-profit event support.
