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Budget workshop highlights Pace Center shortfall, insurance correction and flat sales tax outlook
Summary
City staff told the council the Pace Center faces a roughly $215,000 projected deficit, an insurance line-item was corrected from $5,000 to $55,000, ticket-sales revenue was removed pending events, and sales-tax collections are down about 1.7% through March; council discussed capital projects including a $100,000 Point Andrew driveway estimate.
City administration reviewed the draft fiscal-year budget at the Gonzales City Council workshop, telling elected officials that the Pace Center will likely run a structural deficit and that several line items in the draft were adjusted.
"We received a $150,000 appropriation for the state for visitor enterprise funding," Mr. Jacob said, adding that in the current budget $100,000 is in the general fund and $50,000 was shown in the Pace Center. He said the Pace Center currently shows "a deficit of $215,000" for fiscal year 26–27 but that accumulated fund balance could cover that shortfall; he warned that the center may require future general-fund support.
Jacob also described a correction to an insurance entry that had been entered as $5,000 but should have been $55,000 and said landscape-maintenance spending was increased to $20,000. Ticket-sales revenue that in past years was projected at $100,000 was set to zero in the current draft because "there are no planned events at this point in time."
On revenue projections, Jacob told the council that through March collections were down about 1.7% for the year; the draft budget assumes roughly flat sales-tax receipts, using December financials to model seasonal variations. A council member asked about several capital items, including a $100,000 line for "Point Andrew repair entrance," which Jacob said came from the engineering firm or DPW and was likely an estimate.
Why it matters: the Pace Center deficit and corrected insurance figure affect near-term fund balances and the city's options for covering cultural and visitor-enterprise programming. The sales-tax projection and capital estimates inform whether the city can absorb projected personnel and maintenance costs without dipping into undesignated reserves.
Next steps: staff agreed to provide updated supporting documents and project estimates; the council recessed to reconvene at a later date to continue budget review.
