The Santa Clarita City Council made its midyear budget adjustments and revised the 2023-24 spending plan Tuesday as part of its efforts to finance its 2025 plans and keep the budget balanced.
The city also changed its employee benefits package, which includes staff and executive management, for their health care plans.
A city finance analyst called the changes — which included a $16 million amendment to the previous fiscal year’s spending plan — “standard procedures” to make sure any “deviation from the budget projections are proactively addressed.”
The revenue increases from sources like taxes, fees and grant funding are projected to be around $8.25 million, while there’s a net-revenue decrease for the general fund of about $800,000.
“As always, the budget will continue to be balanced and continue to provide a spending plan that meets the council’s goals,” said Brittany Houston, of the city’s administrative services department, who explained some of the significant increases and decreases in the budget.
The revenue increases include: about $200,000 due to more permit activity; $170,000 more in parking citation revenue, due to enforcement activities “remaining at consistent levels”; and $71,000 increased demand for facility and field rentals.
The revenue decreases include: $1.3 million less in sales tax due to slower overall business activity; $160,000 less in film permits, chalked up to the lingering effects of the industry strike; as well $100,000 in right-of-way encroachment revenue and $100,000 less for grading due to project delays.
“Total general fund expenditures are expected to be $142.6 million, which leaves us with a balanced budget and a 20% operating reserve of $25.8 million,” she added.
The midyear expenditures adjustments to the budget amount to more than $3.1 million, which is part of a more than $5.6 million positive impact to the general fund, Houston told the council Tuesday during her presentation.
The additions include: more than $730,000 associated with the takeover of William S. Hart Park, including staff and equipment and about $70,000 for care of the mansion’s artifacts; $176,000 for a new excavator used in drainage maintenance; $150,000 for vehicle fuel costs; more than $133,000 in contracted animal care and control service cost increases; and $115,000 for a new code enforcement position and a new vehicle.
Houston also explained several adjustments associated with the Vista Canyon project. The 780-foot, two-lane bridge became a multimillion-dollar burden on the city’s budget when the council agreed to take it over this year, despite a number of funding sources identified Tuesday.
City Manager Ken Striplin mentioned the move as necessary so the city would be able to get millions from Metro funding for the project, which were in jeopardy because the project hit financial trouble that made it impossible for the developer to hit Metro’s deadline for the money.
The total cost of design and construction of the bridge is expected to be approximately $37 million, according to a past estimate from city officials.
For that project, there’s $20 million available to the city in grant funding and a $7 million advance on developer fees expected to bring the city’s cost to about $10 million.
However, budget analysts said there are more funding sources available not in the midyear budget revisions expected to bring the cost down further.
For its employees, the city is changing its pay to align with the state’s minimum wage for its office clerks, adding an animal specialist position as part of the Hart Park takeover and making a cut to single employees’ health care coverage.
Employees hired after 2018 will have the amount of coverage in their plan covers increased from $745 to $789, while plus-one and family benefits remain the same at $1,574 and $2,054, respectively.
Active employees hired prior to Jan. 1, 2011, will receive a monthly taxable cash amount of $1,016 less any applicable health, dental and vision premiums; that figure is $396 for those hired after 2011.
