Good afternoon and welcome to this special city council meeting.

It's a study session regarding our budget on June 4th, 2025.

City Clerk, please take roll.

Councilmember Enriquez.

Here.

Councilmember Ponce.

Present.

Councilmember Via Padua.

President.

Council Member Blauer.

Present.

Mayor Fugazi.

Present.

And we are absent, Councilmember Padilla and Vice Mayor Lee.

We have a quorum.

Okay.

Uh so at this time we set aside for uh members of the public to speak.

Do we have any cards?

We do not.

Okay, so I don't need to go over the spiel other than council.

We all know how to behave on the dais.

Um the rules apply to us just as much as they do to uh the public.

Okay, so uh items for discussion then item 3.1 budget study session and staff is going to be presenting.

Are you starting us off?

Oh, Brandon, yes.

All right.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Brandon Sepulveda, Infim Budget Officer, and I'm here today to present city manager's proposed annual budget for fiscal year 25-26.

Developing an annual budget is one of the most demanding tasks any local government finance team faces.

Before we dive into the details, I want to take a moment to recognize the outstanding work of our budget team.

These dedicated professionals put in countless late hours under extraordinarily challenging circumstances.

They made personal sacrifices while staying committed to delivering a comprehensive budget document for both the council and our community.

I'd like to extend special thanks to Vanessa Martinez, Naima Ilias, Daisy Rodriguez, Jose Deanda, Daisy Yang, and Sabrina Brewer.

I also want to thank all of our department heads and their respected fiscal staff.

This budget truly represents a collaborative effort across our entire city organization, and we simply couldn't accomplish this work without everyone's contributions.

So here's what we have planned for this afternoon.

We're scheduled to review the proposed annual budget for fiscal year 25-26.

First, I'll provide an overview of the full city budget.

Then we'll focus specifically on the city's general fund, where I'll cover expenses, revenues, and our long-range financial plan.

After that, each city department will present their specific budget information.

In addition to the main budget book, one of the smaller documents you've been provided is our city's fee schedule.

This consolidates all city fees into one comprehensive document.

The first few pages highlight existing fees that are changing, new proposed fees, and any fees we're deactivating.

As departments present today, they'll discuss any specific fee changes that need your attention.

I wanted to point this out because it is an important component of our overall budget.

The third document we're reviewing is our five-year capital improvement plan or CIP.

This will be up for adoption as well on June 24th.

The CIP outlines the city's capital project needs and includes over a billion dollars worth of projects across the five-year time frame.

We'll have detailed slides about this later on in our presentation.

And finally, I want to remind everyone that we have a public hearing scheduled for the June 24th City Council meeting where we'll consider final adoption of the proposed budget.

So let's get started with our budget overview.

I'm going to read this word for word to establish the context and background for what we'll be doing today and continuing on through our June 24th meeting.

So not later than May 15th of the prior fiscal year.

The proposed annual budget shall include anticipated revenues, projected expenditures, transfers for each fund and or department, the proposed capital improvement plan, proposed fee schedule, and projected current year annualized financial activity for comparability.

The total proposed expenditure shall not exceed the total of estimated income, estimated unencumbered balances of funds to be carried over from the preceding year, and unencumbered available reserves.

The annual budget serves as both a financial and strategic planning tool.

It's our essential instrument for managing resources effectively while fostering accountability, driving innovation, and ensuring efficient service delivery.

The budget, prioritized by council goals, guides all city activities and accomplishment.

Our city has been very active this past year, and the upcoming department presentations will highlight what we've accomplished.

Let me share some key points about our budget development process.