3 days Ago By BY ARTURO BOJORQUEZ Editor
CALEXICO — An interim Finance Director and Acting City Manager report shows the City of Calexico recorded a $900,000 budget surplus last Fiscal Year. The report, that will be considered Wednesday evening during the City Council meeting, reads that the proposed budget strategy sought to build reserves, invest in programs through transfer of the 2023-24 General Fund year-end surplus that exceeds the City’s General Fund reserve policy to the capital and airport funds, and apply Internal Service Fund surplus to pay down debt through transfers to the City’s OPEB trust and Employee Compensated Absence funds. Interim Finance Director Sandra Fonseca and Acting City Manager Juan Contreras reported that the General fund has met and exceeded its 2023-24 fund balance projection and additional one-time funds are available for the City Council’s policy direction.
Both officials proposed a transfer to the Airport Operations fund to backfill last fiscal year’s operating deficit and a projected deficit for 2024-25. Another amendment is proposed to transfer General Fund surplus to the Local Capital Fund to increase its discretionary capital reserve for use by the City Council to address one-time capital, vehicle, and equipment requests submitted by departments. The report reads the city recorded $428,000 of revenues in excess of budget, to which the city subtracted $170,000 from the prior budget projection.
The remaining $258,000 net revenue surplus was added $705,000 program expenditure savings and $378,000 self-insured medical program rebate. Considering the $441,000 Fund Balance retained in fund to achieve 68 days reserve target, the city had a $900,000 General Fund surplus. The city originally expected $20.
3 million in revenues, but reported $20.5 million. The exceeding funds came from Investment Earnings, Ambulance Fees, and Other Sources.
The report also reads that all General Fund departments operated within their approved expenditure budget, except the Fire Department due to overtime. The non-safety departments (Planning, Engineering, Building, Public Works, Library, and Recreation) collectively had sufficient savings to absorb the annual General Fund vacancy savings assumption of $500,000, the report reads. General Fund departments expended 97% of their program budgets with a savings of 3% or $705,000.
Fonseca and Contreras also wrote about the 2024-25 budget status that reads city-wide view of the current year-to-date expenditures show all funds are within their expected trend. Outside of the General Fund, the most significant expenditures are $2.9 million of spending in the New River capital grant project, the update reads.
Based on the council’s policy directives to reimburse Hearthstone CFD public safety and defer the downtown parking meter program will lead to fund reductions of $165,000 and $245,000, respectively. To cover those revenue reductions, city staff implemented minor adjustments to sales tax, franchise, investment income, ambulance, and other police department sources..
