At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the public got its first look at a balanced city budget that maintains all core city services and continues more than a dozen new programs aimed at improving public safety, maintaining an excellent quality of life and protecting the environment.

In spite of an inflation rate of more than 8%, City Manager Scott Chadwick said he challenged all city departments to reduce costs in next year’s budget, resulting in an overall decrease of the general fund operations and maintenance budget of 2% over last year’s total. Overall, the city’s proposed fiscal year 2022-23 general fund operating budget is $198.3 million. General fund revenues for the same time period are anticipated to be $198.8 million.

The City Council voted to make one change to the budget presented, which was to restore a Police Department program that provides counseling to at risk minors. Staff had recommended eliminating the program due to recent changes resulting in the cost increasing from around $70,000 a year to $130,000 a year. With this change, the city’s budget remains balanced, with a projected surplus of approximately $300,000.

Overall, the proposed general fund operating budget is about 7% higher than this year’s budget – 4% represents new spending, and 3% is money the city is setting aside for future capital, infrastructure and technology needs.

Major areas of new investment in the fiscal year 2022-23 budget support priorities identified by the City Council as part of a five-year strategic plan, currently under development:

• Reducing response times for the city’s Fire Department by building a new fire station along the coast and implementing other recommendations from a recent study of fire department operations. The first step is to build a temporary fire station on the site of the old power plant while a permanent site is identified.
• Several new environmental sustainability programs including phasing out more single use plastics in Carlsbad.
• A new park planner and a new engineer to help expedite planned projects over the next five years. Both positions are temporary.
• Funding to maintain several recent park improvements including a new neighborhood park on the site of the former Buena Vista Reservoir and a dog park scheduled to open this summer at Poinsettia Community Park.
• Increasing the number of traffic studies the city can conduct in a year. Traffic studies are often the first step in developing options for reducing speeding in neighborhoods.
• A new position that will allow the city to increase assistance to those in need of affordable rental housing from 550 households a year to 600. About 60% of the cost for this position is eligible for federal reimbursement.
• Four new full time lifeguard positions that will enable Monroe Street Pool to be open more hours. The city eliminated enough part time positions to offset the cost of three of the four new lifeguard positions.

The city will also continue over a dozen programs added over the past several years, including:

• A program to reduce homelessness in Carlsbad and its effects on the community.
• Expanded arts and culture programs.
• A park ranger program for city parks, trails and the beach.
• A lifeguard program for the beach north of Oak Avenue, which is not part of the State Parks system.
• Expanded community engagement and transparency, including livestreaming nearly 200 public meetings of city boards and commissions, in addition to the City Council.
• Continuing a senior meal program expanded during COVID.

City staff proposed adding 24 new full time positions starting July 1. About 70% of these are police, fire and lifeguard positions. Others are needed to maintain utilities infrastructure, provide more affordable housing and manage the city’s data and technology needs.

The preliminary operating budget covers day-to-day city services such as police and fire, library, planning, parks and recreation, which are supported by tax dollars. It also includes city services that are funded through fees, such was water, wastewater, trash and recycling. The city operates on a fiscal year that runs July 1 to June 30.

On June 7, city staff will present the proposed capital improvement program budget, which covers major city construction projects. Staff will also present details of an annual plan for maintaining and expanding the use of city technology, which over the years has become as critical to city operations as traditional infrastructure. The City Council will consider adopting the entire city budget at a public hearing scheduled for June 14.

On May 17, city staff provided a financial and economic update to the City Council that showed a strong recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19. However, based on the city’s latest financial forecast, projected spending could exceed anticipated revenues in as soon as three years.

According to city Finance Director Zach Korach, the City of Carlsbad is in a transition between a time of building to one focused on maintaining what has been created. Cities at this stage of life often see a shift in where revenues come from to pay for large infrastructure projects.

One of the programs that will be continuing in the new fiscal year is a community-led update to how the city manages growth while maintaining an excellent quality of life and strong financial health. A citizens committee is providing input on updated standards for things like parks and roads and ways to fund them in the future. The committee’s work is expected to be done in early 2023, after which it will be presented to the City Council for consideration.

More information
Staff report