The Carlsbad City Council will consider final adoption of the annual budget at its meeting June 18, starting at 4 p.m. The meeting will include a discussion of proposed updates to city financial policies, including pension funding, surplus management, and reserves, with the goal of further strengthening the city’s long-term financial position.
Since presenting the preliminary budget May 21, city staff has provided answers to an initial set of questions June 3, 2019, plus a follow up set of questions on June 14, 2019.
The city remains in excellent financial health with a projected budget surplus, according to the city’s finance manager, who led a team of staff in presenting a draft budget to the City Council at its May 21 meeting. The Fiscal Year 2019-20 Preliminary Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program details all the projected revenue and recommended spending for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The May 21 meeting was an opportunity for the public and the City Council to go over the draft budget prepared by city staff. In all, the general fund operating budget, which covers the city’s day to day services like police, fire, parks and libraries, is proposed to increase 7 percent, with a projected surplus of $3.7 million. By comparison, the 2018-19 general fund operating budget increased 6.9 percent over the previous year.
Community members can read the draft budget on the city’s website or see a printed version at City Clerk’s Office. A video of Tuesday’s meeting is also available on the city’s website.
According to Finance Manager Roxanne Muhlmeister, city staff always propose a general fund operating budget that is balanced with some amount left over to provide a “comfortable cushion” against any unforeseen changes that come up during the year.
Muhlmeister likens the general fund to a person’s checking account. Other city funds are more akin to a college savings account, where the money doesn’t necessarily get spent the same year it comes in.
Community Budget Priorities
The city asked for input on spending priorities earlier in the budget process this year and used a new online public input tool in addition to the traditional public workshop. In all, about 1,300 residents shared their budget priorities with the city. At Tuesday’s meeting city staff shared the main themes from the public input and how they are reflected in the draft budget.
Neighborhood quality of life
Providing services that support neighborhood quality of life was a common theme among the community members who provided input on the budget. This included the impacts of increasing homelessness, short term vacation rentals and other concerns
Public safety
The draft budget increases the Police and Fire department budgets by a total of 12.5%. At $68 million, police and fire services represent 42% of the city’s general fund operating budget, the largest area of spending on day to day services. This includes:
Parks, recreation, trails and open space
Community members shared a variety of priorities that fall within the Parks & Recreation Department’s responsibility, including wanting new parks, more trails and open space that is protected. Services for seniors were also important to many respondents. The draft budget includes $18.9 million in spending for parks, recreation, trails and open space, including the following:
o $108,000 to increase the level of recycling, trash and restroom maintenance along the Seawall.
o $85,000 to maintain newly acquired open space and the trail at Village H in northwest Carlsbad.
Environmental sustainability
The proposed budget includes requests to continue funding for existing programs to support the city’s Climate Action Plan and sustainability guiding principles, as well as to meet new environmental regulations.
Transportation and mobility
Transportation and mobility issues discussed during this year’s public input process ranged from speeding in neighborhoods, traffic safety and traffic congestion, to creating more opportunities for safe walking and biking on city streets. City resources focused in these areas in the draft budget include:
Enhancing arts and culture
Many community members expressed a love for the arts and a desire to see more investment in this area. Some ways the draft budget supports the arts include:
Other Changes to the Budget Process
In addition to getting input from the public earlier in the process, city staff made other changes this year to how budget priorities are set. In past years all city departments started the budget process with the same increase, usually based on the rate of inflation. Likewise, up to 10% of unspent money in department budgets was automatically rolled over into the next year’s budget. Both of these practices were eliminated this year in favor of a department by department and program by program evaluation of need, based on data. As a result, city leaders had more flexibility in allocating resources strategically, rather than needing to ask for budget increases to cover every increase in spending.
To see the full details of the preliminary fiscal year 2019-20 city budget, visit www.carlsbadca.gov/finance.
For more information
Roxanne Muhlmeister, 760-602-2417
City media contact
Kristina Ray, 760-434-2957, kristina.ray@carlsbadca.gov