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City Council Adopts New Operating Budget
City

Members of the Riverbank City Council adopted the preliminary fiscal year 2020-21 operating budget at the meeting held on June 23. Assistant City Manager Marisela Garcia presented the council with a synopsis of the general fund, special revenue funds, system development fee funds, housing funds, sewer enterprise funds, and water enterprise funds. The final budget will be presented to the city council in September.

The General Fund will end the 2019-20 fiscal year with a 32 percent reserve; however, the projections for the 2020-21 fiscal year has a structural deficit of 664,100. Garcia broke it down as follows: the Beginning Reserve on July 1 is $3,159,600, the Projected Revenues are $9,911,700, the Projected Expenditures are $10,575,800, the Anticipated Ending Reserve by June 30 2021 is $2,495,500 (25 percent), leaving a Structural Deficit of $664,100 due to ongoing costs that the city will have from year to year. The overall general fund revenues are down one percent for FY 2021-21 compared to FY 2019-20.

Some of the anticipated expenditure changes Garcia presented were staffing costs including negotiated cost of living adjustments for two bargaining units, natural increases annually in cost of benefits like CalPERS, health, and workers compensation as well as the Law Enforcement Contract that includes negotiated COLA’s (cost of living adjustment) and a new deputy that have been added this current fiscal year and one that they hope to add in the upcoming fiscal year. Both of the positions are being funded by the public benefit fund.

Garcia presented the council with some items to consider in the future like the future impacts of the State Budget on General Fund Revenue Sources, updated sales tax projections due to COVID-19, impact to PERS rates in FY 22-23 due to COVID-19, unfunded state mandates (including storm water), funding for the Seventh Street storm line repairs, Eastside master plan, and minimum wage increases affecting full-time wages in future years.

Full details and specifics in regards to the annual operating budget for fiscal year 2020-21 are available on the riverbank.org website under meetings and agenda.