Proposed City budget is strong and includes healthy reserves
The City of Mission Viejo’s 2023-25 proposed budget, which is balanced and includes robust reserves, is now available for review.
The proposed budget is a $194.6 million two-year package of services, programs, and projects for the benefit of Mission Viejo residents and businesses. The proposed budget maintains all essential service levels and programs that are important to the community and provides for $18.6 million in funding for capital improvements. The development of the 2023-25 proposed budget was guided by a continued focus on the City’s organizational values and strategic goals. The proposed budget is balanced while maintaining healthy discretionary reserves of $35.3 million.
Highlights of the proposed budget include:
- A General Fund operating budget of $146.4 million, which reflects full restoration of all programs and events following the pandemic.
- As part of a longtime hallmark of the City's agenda, continued commitment that public safety remains the City’s top priority with $59.7 million dedicated to these services.
- Infrastructure maintenance budget of $48.3 million which includes all park, median, slope and facility maintenance including resources in 2024/25 for the new Corporate Yard facility.
- A balanced Golf Fund budget of $8.8 million without the need for a General Fund subsidy.
- $18.6 million in proposed spending for capital projects including $12.3 million for street and road resurfacing projects, $3.3 million for signal synchronization projects, additional funding to complete the La Paz Bridge and Road Widening and the Oso Parkway/I-5 northbound on-ramp improvement projects and $400,000 to replace security lighting around the fields and parking lot of the World Cup soccer fields.
- An increase in authorized full-time equivalent (FTE) positions of 2.65 including an addition of a full-time employee in the Information Technology Department and a full-time employee in the Recreation & Community Services Department.
The City Council will discuss the proposed budget at its June 13 meeting, before adopting the final budget on June 27.
See the full budget report at this link. The public is invited to attend the meeting to provide input.
The City Council meets at 6 pm in the Council Chamber at 200 Civic Center.
For more information, visit cityofmissionviejo.org.
Comments
Will the council be…
Will the council be reinstating the policy of rehabilitating one playground per year?
If so, will the council be enforcing its 2018 policy to add shade structures to all future rehabilitation projects?
Here are the Minutes from the April 23, 2018 Minutes for Item # 9:
Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Goodell, seconded by Council Member Sachs, to direct staff to incorporate, as a policy, the installation of shade structures in to future park rehabilitation projects.
On roll call, said motion carried by the following vote:
AYES: Bucknum, Goodell, Kelley, Raths, and Sachs
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Opps - Measure Twice - Cut…
Opps - Measure Twice - Cut Once.
Sorry for the typo. The year should be 2019 NOT 2018.
More questions: For the good…
More questions:
For the good of our City, I hope the cheery press release outlook for our City finances is accurate. But it is hard to rate as the Master Financial Plan (MFP) portion of the proposed budget is currently missing. Will it be uploaded prior to the June 13 council meeting?
From Page 301 of the 2021-23 Budget explains the importance of a MFP in the budgeting process - https://cityofmissionviejo.org/node/360 :
"CITY OF MISSION VIEJO
2021-23 Master Financial Plan
The City of Mission Viejo has prepared a Master Financial Plan (MFP) as part of its budget development process since 1993. City Council policy currently calls for the MFP to be updated every two years.
This long-range forecasting model is an integral part of the City’s budget process. It is used to project General Fund revenue, expenditures, transfers and capital outlay for the upcoming two-year budget cycle and an additional five years out. The MFP allows for a deeper analysis of how past and current spending decisions will affect future operating costs.
This MFP was prepared as part of the 2021-2023 budget process and focuses on General Fund revenue and expenditures for 2021-2023 plus an additional five years of projections, out to FY 2027/28. The MFP is not only used to help develop a balanced budget, it provides essential information on projected General Fund reserves and allows for analysis of the amount of resources available to fund equipment replacement as well as asset rehabilitation and repair. The long-range nature of the MFP also allows management and staff to be more proactive in budget planning, using the seven years of projections to plan for anticipated swings in revenue or expenditures. This forecast sets the stage for financial planning but it does not represent formally adopted revenues and expenditures. It provides context for considering the City’s ability to continue current services, maintain existing assets and/or fund new initiatives."
Page 313 from the 2021-23 Budget warned us of the following:
"Given the revenue and expenditure projections included in this MFP update, draws against reserves in fiscal years 2024/25 through 2027/28 will be needed to fund ongoing expenditures and balance the budget if the City were to keep all programs and services at current levels. It is important to note that the MFP projections do not include any capital improvement spending from the General Fund from FY 2023/24 through FY 2027/28."
So, does this 2023-25 Budget dip into the reserves or did Covid funds save the budget?
