The La Cañada Flintridge City Council unanimously approved a $22.3 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2024-25 on Tuesday, an 8.8% increase from the prior budget cycle.
After starting the year off developing the preliminary budget, and holding a series of budget workshops and hearings, city staff reports that the FY 2024-25 general fund budget is “balanced.”
The city is set to gain $1.6 million from Measure LCF, a new sales tax approved by voters in March that will go into effect in October. That revenue allowed the city to balance the budget without using reserves since other major revenue sources are anticipated to be unchanged from last year.
“Measure LCF is instrumental in enabling the city to fund an array of additional services,” said City Manager Daniel Jordan.
The adopted budget also does not plan on taking any money from the city’s reserves.
“This year’s fiscal forecast is strong, thanks largely to the anticipated new revenue from Measure LCF,” Jordan told the Outlook Valley Sun. “Many of the city’s budgets adopted in past years have included the use of reserves; this budget does not.”
Given the city’s “conservative” budgetary practices, “it is more likely than not that actual, year-end general fund revenue will somewhat exceed the budget figure, while actual, year-end general fund expenditures will be somewhat less than the budget figure,” reads the report.
The citywide expenditure budget for FY 2024-25 sits at $42.1 million, which includes the general fund and other funds like capital and major project funds, public safety grant funds and streets and transportation funds, to name a few. This year’s budget is an increase from last year’s estimated citywide expenditure budget, which totaled $33.5 million.
At $23 million, the FY 2024-25 revenue budget is $1.8 million, or 8.5%, higher than estimated FY 2023-24 revenues. The budget consists of 45 revenue sources, with just nine of them accounting for more than 90% of all revenue, and property tax continuing to be the highest contributor at $7.2 million.
“Given that existing general fund revenues are estimated to be essentially flat in FY 2024-25 compared to the prior year, the additional $1.6 million from Measure LCF is instrumental in enabling the city to fund an array of additional services, including a 9% increase in the public safety program budget, additional engineering resources to speed the completion of capital projects, and the full funding of this year’s council consideration items and community group requests,” reads the budget introduction from Jordan.
In light of additional funds from Measure LCF, the City Council will be undertaking a comprehensive strategic planning process during the fiscal year to better understand the needs and wishes of the community and establish long-term goals and objectives, which includes developing benchmarks for monitoring progress and measuring success.
The largest single program in the general fund expenditure remains public safety, which, at more than $5.4 million, accounts for nearly a quarter of the entire general fund budget.
Eight new capital projects were also approved for the budget and will join the 19 ongoing projects from previous years, totaling $12.3 million, a figure that is significantly less than the previous year’s budget as some projects have been scheduled across multiple years to forecast project expenses more accurately. Among the larger or notable budgeted projects are sound walls, street resurfacing and traffic signals.
According to the report, federal American Rescue Plan Act funds were utilized for various items, including two council consideration items and one community group request. ARPA monies are a one-time revenue source that will be unavailable in future years.
Council consideration items often involve decisions and trade-offs over competing priorities or a preferred direction for city policy, or they represent a new or major addition to ongoing operations or capital spending.
In the budget, the City Council approved 29 council consideration items, totaling $3.57 million. The approved items include strategic plan development support, a home security and alarm system rebate program, the purchase and installation of new flock safety cameras and community emergency preparedness initiatives, to name a few.
The City Council also funded 12 community organizations that serve the city, for more than $725,000, with the highest request coming from the Community Center of LCF at $310,900 for program support, facilities and maintenance, and capital improvement. The funding this year is $179,934 more than last fiscal year.
Jordan concluded that the budget continues “prudent financial management” while enhancing municipal services.
Mayor Michael Davitt thanked the city staff, specifically Jordan and Director of Finance Alex Kung, for their time.
“Thank you, staff, Dan and Alex for all your work; I know it’s a lot,” he said.
First published in the June 6 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
