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prudence and cautious spending is still very important. The overall condition of the local,
statewide, and national economy is still in a state of flux. Prior to the economic downturn
in 2007, cities could be fairly confident in predicting revenues and forecasting
expenditures. The world that cities operate in today is considerably different, with almost
instant dramatic swings in sales tax and property tax revenues, as well as frequent
policy shifts from the State that impact municipal finance. Given this uncertainty, this
Budget should be looked at as a snapshot in time and subject to change, if needed, as
conditions change.
Along with the uncertain economy, two very important policy changes from the State and
federal government threaten to destabilize this Budget if a cautious and prudent
approach to the City’s finances does not continue. First, California passed certain
pension reform bills last year that have promise for providing a more stable economic
outlook with regard to pension funding by cities. However, new proposed policies by the
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), will increase the amount of
money that the City of Reedley will need to provide to PERS for City employee
retirement accounts. The City Council will not have discretion as to whether or not to
fund these changes – the City will be required to comply. At this point in time, the full
fiscal impact of these changes is not known.
The other change that is expected this year is the implementation of healthcare reform.
The City of Reedley is poising itself to safely weather this implementation from a fiscal
standpoint, however, there is still much uncertainty as to how the reforms will impact
organizations once they are fully implemented. Even the most reputable experts in the
nation have been quoted as stating that the full fiscal and operational impacts of the
reforms are unknown.
With that backdrop, the City’s staff put together a budget that protects vital services and
continues to push forward on needed revitalization efforts. Departments reviewed their
services and funds, and put together proposed budgets based upon the following four
cornerstones:
Enhancing Public Safety
Revitalizing the Community
Promoting Prudent Financial Management
Maximizing City Hall Efficacy
Each dollar that the City spends goes toward furthering one of those cornerstones. For
the second year in a row, the City has attempted to be fully transparent in explaining,
through the budget document, what outcomes were achieved with funds allocated last
year, and what goals staff is intending to achieve with funds allocated for the coming
fiscal year. The City Council will see that much has been accomplished despite the fact
that each department is still running on very lean staffing and little in the way of
discretionary dollars.
Fiscal Position
The summary below provides a high level overview of the key figures undergirding this
year’s budget.
Sales and Property Tax Revenues
Sales tax has performed better than anticipated this year despite a low start through
mid-year, with general sales tax receipts expected to end the year 6.64% above last
year's receipts, and Public Safety Sales Tax (PSST) receipts expected to come in
11.43% above last year's receipts. PSST is usually collected on large purchases
Reedley residents make outside of city limits, such as autos or agricultural equipment;
and these industries are currently performing well. The FY 2013-14 Proposed Budget
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CITY OF REEDLEY
ADOPTED BUDGET 2013-2014