Costa Mesa council to discuss $144.6-million budget
The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday will consider signing off on a $144.6-million spending plan for the coming fiscal year.
Anticipated general fund expenditures are $117.4 million, an increase of roughly $2.2 million from the 2015-16 adopted budget. The general fund is the key operating fund within the city’s budget used for discretionary revenues and expenditures.
The lion’s share of general fund expenditures — $80.9 million — is proposed for employee salaries and benefits. About $28.4 million is expected to fund maintenance and operations, including office supplies, office equipment, as well as electricity, gas and water for all city-owned property.
The budget that council members will consider Tuesday is balanced and maintains or enhances current city services, according to Costa Mesa Chief Executive Tom Hatch.
“Although current economic conditions continue to be favorable, this preliminary budget continues to be careful with our reliance on volatile sales tax revenue,” Hatch wrote in the budget.
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The total preliminary budget is about $9.6 million less than in the current fiscal year, according to the city.
The decrease is largely the result of a smaller capital improvement budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The preliminary capital budget — which includes spending on streets, sidewalks, parks and buildings — is just under $16 million, compared with nearly $25.8 million in the 2015-16 budget.
Regarding capital spending, Hatch wrote that it’s “important to keep in mind that most projects are funded by restricted revenue sources or grants,” so there could be “significant differences from year to year in both the numbers of projects adopted and the total dollars budgeted.”
Highlights of the capital improvement plan include:
$300,000 for construction of landscaped medians and pedestrian improvements along Bristol Street;
$4.6 million for citywide street improvements;
$2.5 million for the design and placement of artificial turf on two of the six fields within the Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex;
$1.4 million to replace the Royal Palm Drive fire station;
$4 million for the Donald Dungan library conversion project and the Neighborhood Community Center rebuild into a new library;
$1.2 million to upgrade public safety communication equipment;
$505,255 for building modifications and maintenance projects at city-owned and leased buildings, including City Hall and the Police Department headquarters, as well as city parks, community centers, libraries and fire stations;
$500,000 for alley improvements on Flower Street and Broadway;
$90,000 for the design of a bicycle trail connecting West 19th Street and the Greenville/Banning channel trail;
$100,000 to replace three wood pedestrian bridges with steel bridges at TeWinkle Park;
- $60,000 to install protective fencing around an archeological site at Fairview Park.
Tuesday’s meeting begins at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.
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Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
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