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Council signals consensus to program $1 million from CRA reserve to Riverside Park
Summary
Councilors and staff discussed moving CRA/TIF reserve funds into the Riverside Park project; staff will program $1,000,000 from the CRA reserve to the park to reduce the general-fund commitment and improve projected unassigned fund balance.
City staff presented options for funding Riverside Park and asked for council direction on using CRA/TIF reserves to reduce the general-fund contribution. The project budget shown to council totaled $3.8 million (a $3.0 million general-fund unassigned commitment and $800,000 from the TIF). Finance staff outlined a proposal to move either $500,000 or $1,000,000 of CRA reserve into the park allocation, which would lower the general-fund share and raise projected FY27 unassigned-fund ratios.
Council members expressed support for using CRA reserves to reduce general-fund exposure while several cautioned against overusing the TIF reserve because it is restricted and the CRA sunsets in 2035 with debt outflows through 2038. After discussion the City Manager said staff would "program that in" and proceed with the one-million-dollar movement; staff also noted they could instead choose an intermediate $500,000 step if council wished. Finance staff explained CRA reserves had been used for items such as trash cans and legal costs and noted long-term debt obligations that counsel should consider before finalizing allocations.
Next steps: staff will program the $1,000,000 CRA allocation in the FY27 budget materials and present updated unassigned-fund projections for council review.
