City staff projects a $3.5 million deficit in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, due in large part to rising retirement costs. City Manager Bill Kelly told City Council that even with the Caruso mall, expansion at Westfield Shoppingtown and at Rusnak auto dealership, the city still faces a budget shortfall in about 5 years. He suggested a library assessment district as a potential revenue source.
The Arcadia city budget of $35.8 million for the 2003-2004 fiscal year was unveiled and will be the subject of a public hearing June 14. City Manager Bill Kelly called the spending program "flat line," with only 1.5 new city jobs in the coming year. Kelly said Arcadia is protected from possible cuts to meet state budget uncertainties because of $6 million in reserves, which were earmarked but never spent in a previous budget. The city is safe for at least the next two budget years.
Reserve funds that were set aside for city infrastructure improvements may have to be used to deal with state budget cuts, as proposed by city manager Bill Kelly.
City Manager Bill Kelly presented a "flat line budget" to the city council. Kelly said current uncertainties in state funding will not be resolved until after the election. The city will revisit the budget at midyear.
City of Arcadia faces new budget year with caution, even though there is a surplus. Arcadia is projecting a budget of $29.96 million, down from $30.5 million the year before.
City Manager Bill Kelly outlined his proposed budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year which begins July 1. The Arcadia City Council will hold a public hearing and is scheduled to adopt it at its June 17 meeting.
The City of Arcadia faces mid-year budget cuts as the state has its own budget problems. Arcadia will have to sustain a $2.9 million cut this year, a loss of funds that comes from vehicle license fees.
Arcadia officials project a $1.2 million budget deficit and have approved a combination of using reserve funds, hiring freezes, and other budget mechanisms to offset it. In order to avoid deep cuts in city services, the City Council has approved a plan to defer the city's slurry sealing program (street surface maintenance) for one year.
Arcadia police and firefighters have voted to defer a portion of their salaries and health benefits to help close the city's budget shortfall. In total, employee pay and benefit deferments will free up about $300,000. The city is trying to close a $600,000 deficit this fiscal year in its $48 million general fund budget.
City Manager Bill Kelly is concerned about a new measure to penalize cities that are not meeting state affordable housing rules. The Dunn Measure could penalize cities as much as $1000 per needed unit and take away up to 60 percent of gas tax funds. Bill Kelly says Arcadia already has a number of senior citizen projects in planning.
The Arcadia City Council has approved a $46 million budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. The city made deep budget cuts across the board, including freezing positions and cutting employee travel. The budget includes roughly $2 million in cuts and concessions from all four city employees' unions, and projects about $45.1 million in estimated total revenues, $45.7 million in proposed expenditures, and $270,000 in employee compensation and benefit deferrals.
Public employees' retirement and pensions are costing cities up to 25% of the city budget. In March, CalPERS announced its stock portfolio had lost 39.8%. Costs for retirees are ballooning and El Monte and West Covina budgets have been hit hard from the recession. Arcadia, which had the fourth highest pension costs of the 24 cities surveyed, spent $6.7 million last year for its 357 current employees and retirees. The city's general fund budget is $46 million.
Arcadia City Manager Bill Kelly is skeptical about the way the State of California balanced this year's budget. The State promises to pay cities back for sales tax to be used to pay off $10.7 billion in loans. The maneuver, known as the "triple flip" will take half of the cities' sales tax revenue for the next five years, and pay it back out of property taxes now earmarked for schools. Arcadia will lose 25% of its vehicle license fee reimbursement, around $750,000. Arcadia is in good shape this year and next, primarily because of a healthy reserve fund. After 2004-2005, unless some solutions are in place, the city could face some hard times.
Arcadia's largest individual sales tax producer, Rusnak Mercedes Benz, announced it wants to move out of Arcadia. It would mean an estimated loss of $800,000 to the City. Having faced expansion roadblocks, Rusnak says the City hasn't been able to deliver the acreage and properties as promised. The announcement came as a shock to City Manager Bill Kelly who knew nothing about it.
Arcadia City Council has gone on record as supporting the building of a new city hall that would be built on the other side of the Civic Center property. Out of three options presented by city manager Bill Kelly, the council consensus was for a new building at a cost of $6.6 million and adjacent to Huntington Drive West.