1 CITY OF EMERYVILLE
EXPENDITURE AND RESERVE POLICIES
(September 2024)
GENERAL FUND
Economic Uncertainty Fund
The purpose of the Economic Uncertainty fund is to provide the fiscal capacity to absorb one‐Ɵme problems without disrupƟng day‐to‐day operaƟons and services and for more systemic and ongoing problems, to take Ɵme needed to fully idenƟfy the impacts and develop and implement a thoughƞul longer‐term strategy.
The City shall maintain a target reserve of 50% of the General Fund annual operaƟng budget.
AppropriaƟons are to be reserved for emergency situaƟons and limited to one‐Ɵme or short‐term (one or two fiscal years) use. Examples of such emergencies include, but are not limited to:
Unplanned, major event such as a catastrophic disaster requiring expenditures over 5% of the General Fund adopted budget.
Economic uncertainƟes, local disasters and other hardships or downturns in the local economy. Budgeted revenue taken by another government enƟty.
Drop in projected/actual revenue of more than 5% of the General Fund adopted revenue budget.
Should the Economic Uncertainty fund be used and its level falls below the target amount of 50%, the goal is to replenish the fund within three fiscal years.
Disaster Reserve Fund
The purpose of the Disaster Reserve Fund isto provide funding in response to a disaster or other imminent or emergency event for which a declaraƟon of a state of emergency has or could be declared.
The City shall maintain a target reserve of $5 million in the Disaster Reserve Fund.
In adopƟng this policy, it is the intent of the City Council that these funds remain uncommiƩed to permit the City Manager access to them without prior council approval in the event of a disaster or similar emergency.
Unassigned General Fund
This reserve is considered primarily a working capital requirement, bridging the gap between the Ɵme expenses are paid and the Ɵme revenues are collected. Undesignated reserve balances will fluctuate from Ɵme to Ɵme and reflect annual operaƟng results. This fund has no minimum threshold although sufficient balances are maintained to provide conƟngencies for unseen operaƟng or capital needs and cash flow requirements.
2 EMERYVILLE MEASURE F FUNDS
In March 2020, Emeryville voters approved Measure F, a one quarter‐cent sales tax levy which has permissible uses that are codified by the measure in Emeryville Municipal Code, SecƟon 3‐3.354. Pursuant to these authorizaƟons and limitaƟons, the City Council has adopted the following policies for the expenditure and reserve of Measure F funds.
Expenditure Policy
In each budget year, Measure F funds shall be expended in the following order of priority:
(1) Provision of funding for one Code Enforcement Officer posiƟon; (2) Provision of funding for one Engineer posiƟon in the Public Works Department; (3) Funding to cover the costs of the Emeryville Child Development Center (ECDC), including maintenance of the Measure F Reserve Fund at the Reserve Policy funding level; (4) Funding to support the permissible public safety investments approved by voters, with posiƟon designaƟons to be determined by the City Council; and
(5) Any funds not expended in a given budget year for the above prioriƟes shall be allocated to the Measure F Reserve Fund
Reserve Policy/Measure F Reserve Fund
The City shall create and maintain a Measure F Reserve Fund. The primary purpose of this fund is to provide funds to secure the long‐term stability of the Emeryville Child Development Center (ECDC) in the event of economic uncertainty.
The City shall maintain a minimum balance of $4 million in the Measure F Reserve Fund. This $4 million is reserved exclusively for the use of supporƟng the Emeryville Child Development Center. Any funds deposited in the Measure F Reserve Fund in excess of the $4 million minimum shall be reserved for addiƟonal public safety staff posiƟons with 50% for addiƟonal police officer posiƟons or public safety support posiƟons and 50% for addiƟonal firefighter posiƟons. balance may be expended in support and furtherance of any of the other permissible uses of Measure F funds, as approved by the voters. 3 Real Property Transfer Tax Policy
Real Property Transfer Tax revenuesinclude both the ResidenƟal Property Transfer Tax and the Commercial Property Transfer Tax revenues. To the extent that the City Council has adopted any prior policies governing the use of these revenues, those policies are hereby rescinded.
Expenditure Policy
For each budget year, the Real Property Transfer Tax revenuesshall be deposited in the City’s General Fund subject to the following prioriƟes:
(1) At the end of each fiscal year, a contribuƟon from the General Fund shall be made in the amount necessary to replenish the CriƟcal Needs Fund to a minimum balance of $1 million; (2) At the end of each fiscal year, if the Real Property Transfer Tax revenues exceed their budgeted amount in the General Fund, including budget adjustments made during the fiscal year, 50% of the excess revenues will be allocated to the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the remaining 50% will be allocated to the City’s unfunded liabiliƟes, including pension liability, Other Post‐Employment Benefits (OPEB) and the City’s SecƟon 115 Pension Trust. AllocaƟon of these funds shall be determined by the City Council, upon recommendaƟon of the Budget and Governance CommiƩee and the Budget Advisory CommiƩee.
CriƟcal Needs Fund
The City shall create and maintain a CriƟcal Needs Fund for the purpose of providing the City with funds to address one‐Ɵme maintenance and/or service needs for which the costs are not part of the City’s regular budget and which are not reasonably anƟcipated to be an ongoing cost that should be budgeted as part of the biannual budget process. The City Manager shall have discreƟon in authorizing the release of these funds for materials, labor and contracts necessary to complete or repair a City facility or support an urgentservice need up to the City Manager’s approval authority. Priority shall be given to infrastructure maintenance, environmental projects and programs, housing and homelessnessservices, and public safety services or programs.