Property tax revenue projected to lesson strain on budget
Rocklin, CA- The Rocklin City Council adopted a balanced Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget on Tuesday, June 23, with $76,039,900 listed in operating expenses and $9,156,700 for capital expenses.
The budget was prepared during local, state and national efforts to combat COVID-19 with fiscal impacts anticipated to continue through this fiscal year and beyond. Read the full budget here.
This budget represents a sound operational plan for a challenging and uncertain year ahead. It is based on the expectation that the local economy will start to recover in early fall of 2020 from COVID-19 shutdowns and return to a level of stability for the balance of the year. It reflects a conservative approach by controlling service expansion and limiting capital acquisitions.
Financial Outlook
Much of the uncertainty for the City budget relates to revenue losses resulting from widespread business closures necessitated by Governor Gavin Newsom’s efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus through a stay-at-home order, which began in March.
The budget anticipates significant declines in revenues from sales taxes, transit occupancy taxes, state gas taxes, and more. However, revenues from property taxes are projected to grow, lessoning the strain on the budget.
Despite these challenges, Rocklin remains fiscally sound due to prudent and conservative planning by City Council and the City executive team.
General Fund and Risk Management reserves are fully funded, and steps have been taken to control or reduce operating costs. Non-essential capital expenditures have also been deferred.
The City remains committed to “balanced budgeting” and sustaining reserve funds in order to continue to provide a high level of services to citizens.
Major Projects
Two areas of planned expenditures for the year include:
- Lease revenue bonds will be used for the city Hall refurbishment ($571,600).
- A payment of $535,600 will be made towards the purchase of the Sunset Whitney Recreation Area. The remaining debt on the purchase of this property is $1,536,881 after the payment scheduled for the upcoming fiscal Year.
The priority in this year’s budget is to pay mandatory obligations first, such as CalPERs costs, salaries, debt and existing contracts, and then prioritize other services with remaining resources.
Conclusion
The City is focused on operating within its means in order to continue to provide the high level of core services and public facility maintenance residents deserve. This is only possible through the leadership of City Council and hard work of staff to place Rocklin in a stable financial position, even during challenging economic cycles.
