The Chula Vista City council on Tuesday night accepted the city manager’s proposed $294.9 million all funds budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
The council will hold a public hearing for the budget on June 7.
The new budget shows that the city will add more employees with two peace officers and one senior park ranger to the city’s homeless outreach team to address chronic homeless matters.
A principal civil engineer will replace an associate engineer and be assigned to traffic engineering.
City Manager Gary Halbert said despite the addition of new city staff, the budget remains consistent from last fiscal year.
Almost half of the $294.9 million all funds budget goes toward personnel services which carry the bulk of the budget at $139.5 million, supply and services at $55 million and $29 million for other expenses. Expenditures on Capital will cost $2.9 million, transfers out $37.9 million, capital improvement project expenditures at $20.7 million and non-capital improvement expenditures is set at $1.1 million with utilities at $8.8 million.
Projected revenue for the all funds budget is at $285 million, revenue will be generated from property taxes, license and permits and other local taxes.
“The summary of all funds indicates that approximately $9 million of prior year revenues will be utilize in fiscal year 2016-2017 in order to balance the all funds budget,” said David
The general fund has the city breaking even with $146 million for expenditures and $146 million in revenue. Revenues will come from sales tax, property taxes, motor vehicle license fees and other revenue streams.
Projected revenues could change if voters pass a half-cent sales tax measure that will be on the November ballot.
Forty six percent of the general funds expenditures will go to employee salaries.
The city’s capital improvement budget sits at $20.7 million with 83.9 percent of that budget going toward roadway, eight percent used for wastewater and seven percent for drainage.
Shauna Stokes, president of the Friends of the Chula Vista Library, asked the city to consider adding additional funds to the city’s capital improvement budget to repair the aging bathrooms in the Civic Center Library.
Library bathroom photos show bathroom sinks out of service, missing floor tiles and bathroom stalls in bad condition.
“The facilities are just old and wearing out,” she said. “The friends of the library hopes that funding can be set aside in this year’s budget for needed renovations of our aging city public facilities, especially the almost 40-year old civic center library.
Stokes presented photos to the council comparing the old restrooms in the library to the newer, nicer ones at City Hall.
Councilwoman Pamela Bensoussan said the city should do what it can to fix the library’s depleted restrooms.
“I totally agree with the library bathrooms, regardless of what happens with the budget that is something that should shoot up to highly important.”
