By Eric Heinz
Assistant City Manager Erik Sund introduced the groundwork of the city’s budget for the next fiscal year—and looking ahead, he said the city needs to stick to its plan of saving for the future.
“In February, we talked about a theme of investing for tomorrow and in the actions that we go through,” Sund said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
A PowerPoint presentation provided by the city showed revenues for the general fund will increase each year but expenditures will surpass revenues by about 0.3 percent in 2019 and drop to about 0.7 through 2021. Most of this eventual decline was foreseen in years prior, but Sund said it could be indicative of a small recession on the horizon.
The city’s general fund revenue stream is about $60 million annually.
“We’re always going to roll up our sleeves and pass a balanced budget, like we always have, but we need to be cautious so we don’t operate at a deficit,” Sund said.
Councilman Tim Brown said he’s seen these forecasts before and was alarmed by them when he was first elected to Council. However, he said, the outlook is not as dire as it seems.
The city will host a workshop and public forum on the budget for the next year at 4 p.m. on May 24 at City Hall, 100 Avenida Presidio. The budget adoption will take place during a special meeting on June 13. A copy of the city’s proposed budget is available at www.san-clemente.org.
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