City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 27, 2025
Agenda Item: 7.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Oscar Santiago, Director, Finance Department
Subject: Proposed FY 2025-27 Biennial Budget and FY 2025-26 CIP Budget Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Receive the FY 2025-26 through FY 2029-30 Five-Year Financial Forecast Update;
2. Review and provide direction to staff on the FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget, including the FY 2025-26 Proposed Exception-Based Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget (Attachment A);
3. Review and provide direction to staff on proposed changes to the City’s Fees and Fines (Attachment E);
4. Provide direction to staff on revising the Council Travel Funds policy;
5. Direct staff to proceed with setting the FY 2025-27 Budget Adoption public hearing on June 24, 2025.
Executive Summary
The city of Santa Monica’s Fiscal Year 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget is one focused on resiliency – resiliency to withstand the lingering impacts to our economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, the further economic disruption of the wildfires, and the high degree of economic uncertainty expected over the next few years. While preserving city services and programs, the budget caps growth across all departments, implements additional cost saving measures, and continues to defer much needed maintenance of streets, parks, and public facilities. In spite of these measures, the biennial budget relies on the use of working capital reserves to balance the budget for both fiscal years, and is anticipated to require a total of $60.5 million in reserves over the next five years, to maintain service levels until General Fund revenues recover. 2 of 36
Some key factors shaping the city’s financial position include a downgrade in the city’s financial forecast due to policy changes from the federal government, a delay in the recovery of Santa Monica’s tourism sector, unprecedented legal liabilities, and negotiation of labor agreements with the city’s 11 bargaining units. The capital improvement program also remains underfunded and budget estimates for funded projects are at risk with potential cost increases due to tariffs, uncertainty around federal funding, and other factors. These constraints come at a time when the city is focused on its economic redevelopment, needing to ensure this is an attractive and desirable place to live, visit, and do business. Therefore, within this budget, a focus has been put on achieving the three priorities of the City Council:
• Affordable, Livable, and Secure Housing for All
• Clean Streets and Safe Neighborhoods
• Economic Opportunity and Growth
The limited enhancements recommended in this budget are funded using new revenue sources, including the voter approved Measure K, reallocated funding, public and private partnerships, rate adjustments, and successful grant awards.
The city of Santa Monica’s FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP)Budget Addendum for FY 2025-26 is posted on the city’s website at santamonica.gov (Attachment A). The document includes:
• The city manager’s budget message, which is presented in both English and Spanish, that provides an overview of:
o the city’s fiscal health
o recommendations to advance council-adopted priorities, using both new and reallocated funding sources
o ongoing economic development efforts fostering long-term prosperity • Recommended allocations associated with Measures K and PSK addressing public safety and safe streets
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• The city’s budget priority areas with key performance measures aligned to the priority areas, and department workplans
• The sources and uses of funds, including employee compensation costs • Projected revenue performance in FY 2024-25, FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 • Fund balances for the General Fund and all other funds • Five-year overviews (spanning FY 2025-26 through FY 2029-30) of citywide expenditures and revenues by fund and by department
• Descriptions of each department and budget and position allocations by division, department, and fund
• Proposed budget enhancements, including net zero items in the General Fund and items funded by available fund balance in the non-general funds • The FY 2025-26 CIP Budget Addendum, showing individual projects in each fund • The city’s financial policies, which are adopted along with the budget The citywide Proposed Biennial Budget is $789.9 million in FY 2025-26 and $825.5 million in FY 2026-27, net of reimbursements and transfers.
Background
Given the critical importance of supporting the rebuilding of Santa Monica’s economy, the FY 2025-27 budget is focused on resiliency. The proposed budget maintains city services and programs but caps growth in the General Fund across all departments and implements other cost-saving measures to reduce the city’s dependence on reserves to balance the budget. The limited available General Fund funding for the city capital improvements is insufficient to address the growing maintenance backlog for city streets, parks and facilities. And, at the time of this staff report, the city remains in negotiations for labor contracts with all of its bargaining units. As relayed at the March 8, 2025, council workshop, these financial pressures are anticipated to persist through the five-year forecast period with limited growth in key revenue streams (Attachment B) as a recovery in global tourism and retail sales is not expected in the near-term. As a result, 4 of 36
the proposed budget is designed to make strategic advancements in the council’s budget priorities and recommends additional cost-saving and revenue opportunities to further reduce the city’s reliance on General Fund reserves.
This comes at the same time the financial pressures affecting Santa Monica are having a negative effect on the city’s major General Fund revenue streams, including sales tax, transient occupancy tax, and parking revenues. And the city also continues to operate with extremely low financial reserves depleted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as settlements in cases of sexual abuse from a former employee and continued litigation of the California Voting Rights Act case.
Today, the city has an operational deficit that will require the use of approximately $60.5 million in General Fund reserves over the five-year forecast to balance the budget and maintain existing services.
It is important to note that the city’s fragile financial position, combined with extreme economic uncertainty, means additional measures would be required to balance the budget if any one or combination of the following happen: the region’s economic downturn persists or worsens; the city must assume debt through the issuance of bonds to cover legal liabilities; or additional federal funding for public safety, transportation and affordable housing is no longer available.
To build long-term stability and prosperity for Santa Monica, this budget makes strategic allocations to support the council’s budget priorities and position the city to reimagine and rebuild Santa Monica’s economy. Santa Monica voters helped in these efforts through the passage of two tax measures on the 2024 ballot:
• Measure F was the first modernization of the city’s business license tax since 1990 and is estimated to generate up to $3 million annually in new revenues (phased in over three years) while enabling the city to more accurately and effectively apply the tax in the modern, digital economy. The measure also 5 of 36
lowered the effective tax rate for most businesses with revenues under $5 million to encourage investment in our local economy.
• Measure K raised the tax rate for parking lots and structures to 18 percent, exempting city owned lots and structures, and is anticipated to generate $6.7 million in new General Fund revenues annually. Advisory measure PSK was also approved by the voters advising that at least half of the measure’s additional revenues should be used for public safety. A special section of this budget outlines proposed uses for the Measure K revenues to support both public safety and safe streets, while also presenting corresponding service reductions, cost savings and new revenue opportunities designed to help balance the budget over the next biennial cycle.
While full benefit of Measure F will not be realized for three years, staff is presenting options for the allocation of anticipated revenues from Measure K as requested by council at its March 8 budget workshop and staff is seeking council direction at the budget study session.
General Fund Financial Status Update
Revenues
As discussed in detail at the March 8, 2025, council budget workshop, Santa Monica's diverse tax base has historically provided financial stability, but the city faces ongoing challenges due to its reliance on retail, tourism, and hospitality sectors, all hit hard by the pandemic and that continue to struggle. While visitor activity is recovering, it remains slow, and remote work trends have reduced daytime population significantly as compared to 2019 levels. These shifts impact consumer spending and sales tax revenues and contribute to higher retail and corporate vacancy rates compared to regional averages. These factors continue to impact revenues in the General Fund. • Transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue, a vital contributor to the General Fund, is recovering more slowly than anticipated despite the rate increases introduced by Measure CS in 2023. The lingering effects of the Los Angeles area wildfires and global geopolitical uncertainty have slowed tourism’s rebound, with 6 of 36
visitor levels expected to return to 2019 figures only by late 2026 or early 2027.
The travel industry faces an unprecedented level of uncertainty not seen since the pandemic. Unpredictable trends, sector-wide declines, and international headlines casting doubt on travel to the U.S. have created a precarious environment, further dampening revenue growth in this area.
As of April 2025, local hotel rates remain subdued, with citywide occupancy hovering around 70 percent. Preliminary data from the Department of Commerce, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and independent analysts reveal that international visits to the U.S. declined approximately 14 percent in March 2025 compared to the previous year. According to Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, each 1 percent drop in international visitor spending equates to approximately $1.8 billion nationally in lost export revenue annually. If the 14% decline persists through 2025, the U.S. could face a staggering $21 billion shortfall in travel-related exports. Given Santa Monica’s reliance on international tourism, these factors could further dampen TOT revenue projections.
The chart below illustrates the impacts of this uncertainty on the city’s TOT.
Looking at historical quarterly activity, revenues through the third quarter (March 2025) are tracking approximately $2.7 million, or 6 percent lower as compared to last fiscal year. While staff revised the FY 2024-25 revenue budget downward during midyear, if the trend continues, revenues may not meet the revised reduced budget projection for FY 2024-25.
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• Sales tax (including transaction and use tax, or TUT) collections have also been impacted by decreased tourism levels and reduced consumer spending in retail and other areas, particularly in luxury and electric vehicle sectors. Factors like a 29 percent rise in car prices since the pandemic, higher financing costs, and increased insurance premiums have driven these shifts. Restaurants, especially in the fine dining sector, are experiencing declines as consumers opt for more budget-friendly fast casual options.
Similar to TOT, historical quarterly activity in the chart below for sales taxes illustrates a downward trend. Revenues through the third quarter (March 2025) are tracking approximately $1.2 million, or 3 percent lower as compared to last fiscal year. While staff revised the FY 2024-25 revenue budget downward during midyear, if the trend continues, revenues may not meet the revised reduced budget projection for FY 2024-25.
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• Parking-related revenues, another major resource stream, show modest annual growth of 1.75 percent. However, changes such as increased online shopping, remote work, and alternative transportation methods (e.g., rideshare, public transit, bicycles, and scooters) also contribute to a drop in demand for parking.
The revitalization of the Third Street Promenade and downtown Santa Monica is expected to help offset these trends. Additionally, staff are reviewing parking rates across all city lots and structures to ensure they support economic revitalization while remaining a stable funding source for city services.
TOT, sales tax, and parking-related revenues (including parking facility taxes) collectively account for approximately 46 percent of General Fund revenues. The chart below illustrates annual revenue trends for these sources through fiscal year 2023-24, showing declines or stagnation in recent years. When comparing revenues in FY 2018- 19 to FY 2023-24, sales tax has decreased by 1.2 percent, and Parking-Related Revenue has dropped by 16.1 percent. While TOT has risen by 8.4 percent, this growth is solely due to the passage of Measure CS, which increased the TOT tax rate from 14 percent to 15 percent for hotels/motels and 17 percent for homeshares. 9 of 36
Without Measure CS revenues, TOT would have remained essentially flat, with only a 0.3 percent increase over the same period.
Sales Tax Parking-related TOT
Change 2018-19 compared to 2023-24 $ (0.9) $ (10.6) $ 5.1 % change -1.2% -16.1% 8.4%
Expenditures
On the expenditure side, the city also faces significant financial challenges, shaped by both economic instability and organizational constraints. Inflation continues to drive up costs, fueled by the highest price increases in four decades and global market disruptions. Economists expect inflation to continue increasing in 2025 pursuant to tariff impacts. Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding federal funding threatens the execution of critical projects. Labor negotiations are underway, with all bargaining unit contracts set to expire on June 30, 2025. Additionally, years of deferred maintenance have led to mounting repair and replacement costs, necessitating urgent action to prevent system failures and operational inefficiencies.
The General Fund reserves remain strained following severe revenue losses during the pandemic — estimated at $195 million through June 30, 2024 — along with significant 10 of 36
legal settlement payouts, including $159.6 million covered from reserves. Further legal liabilities add to the uncertainty, as the city has already paid over $230 million in settlements related to former employee Eric Uller and now faces additional claims.
Efforts to seek insurance reimbursement are ongoing but remain unresolved.
Separately, the California Voting Rights Act case has been referred back to the trial court, with a potential trial date set for late 2025. The General Fund has had to borrow from other funds and defer payments to the Housing Trust Fund since 2020, totaling $68.7 million through FY 2024-25, to address the economic impacts of the pandemic and help cover the costs of these liabilities.
Federal policy changes impact funding for city projects and services Staff conducted a fiscal review of federally funded projects to assess how federal policy changes may affect Santa Monica’s financial landscape. The uncertainty of federal funding calls into question the city’s ability to complete major projects such as the Pier Bridge Replacement Project, creates uncertainty about federal funding streams that subsidize our Big Blue Bus’s bus replacement program and affordable housing programs, and provide public safety grants to our Police and Fire departments. A current inventory of city projects utilizing federal funds is attached (Attachment C).
Staff is working closely with the city’s lobbyists to address each situation and provide guidance on whether projects should move forward at this time. To date, staff have not stopped work on any projects involving federal funds, however considerable work is being done to either restructure project proposals or shore up funding. And opportunities to pursue meaningful new federal funding are not expected. This hinders the city’s ability to restore vital services and address critical gaps in public programs in the General Fund.
The city’s nonprofit partners that rely on federal funds to provide their services are also concerned and the city is not in the financial position to be able to backfill losses in federal funding in any of these areas. Housing and Human Services staff continue ongoing dialog with our nonprofit partners to understand how they are impacted and coordinate support where possible.
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Careful financial planning and strategic adjustments will be essential in navigating these ongoing fiscal pressures. These staff efforts are ongoing and designed to mitigate impacts to city operations and community services wherever possible.
Other Funds Financial Forecast Update
Among the larger funds contributing to the city’s operations, the Water, Wastewater, Big Blue Bus, Airport and Cemetery funds have sufficient revenue to cover operational and capital needs during the biennial period.
The Pier and Beach Recreation funds, however, are projected to require subsidies and advances during the biennial budget period, totaling approximately $9.2 million.
The closure of the Pier deck parking, reduced parking availability in Beach Lot 1 North in preparation for the Pier Bridge Replacement Project, and delayed plans to adjust beach parking rates all exacerbate the situation.
The Housing Trust Fund continues to await repayment of funds borrowed by the General Fund, which were utilized to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and address legal claims, and funds continue to be withheld for city contingencies.
FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget
The proposed biennial budget for the city of Santa Monica spans 30 funds and 15 departments and totals $789.9 million in FY 2025-26 and $825.5 million in FY 2026-27, net of reimbursements and transfers. The proposed budgets for FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 represent year-over-year change of (0.05 percent) and 4.5 percent, respectively.
The General Fund, supported predominantly with tax revenues, provides the majority of municipal services, while enterprise funds such as Water, Resource Recovery and Recycling, Big Blue Bus and Airport conduct their operations using rate- or fee-based revenues, and internal services funds receive contributions from all funds to service 12 of 36
items such as vehicles, technology, and insurance, and to conduct activities covered with grant or other revenues restricted for specific uses.
The chart below shows the breakdown of the citywide proposed budget for FY 2025-26, net of reimbursements and transfers, the first year of the biennial period. This budget includes both operating and capital expenditures.
Citywide Budgeted Expenditures – By Fund Type – FY 2025-26 (in millions)
The amounts shown in the chart are net of reimbursements and transfers – technical adjustments for payments of services between city funds in order to avoid double-counting. Among the large General Fund reimbursements and transfers not included in this chart, are contributions to workers’ compensation and liability self-insurance funds, and transfers to the fleet and computer equipment replacement funds.
The proposed General Fund budget (including reimbursements and transfers) is $480.9 million in FY 2025-26 and $495.8 million in FY 2026-27. The budgets anticipate yearover-year growth of approximately 3 percent annually. The charts below show the sources and uses of the General Fund budget for the FY 2025-26 proposed budget.
More detail on the city’s biennial budget is included in the budget overview section of the attached budget document.
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Where does the money come from in
FY 2025-26?
Where does the money go?
In the chart above, internal services includes the offices of the city manager, city council and city attorney, the records & election services, finance, human resources and information services departments. The office of the city manager also includes the city’s 3-1-1 and the office of emergency management, which includes 911 emergency dispatch.
Changes in the FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget
The FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget includes operating budget adjustments in the General Fund that maintain a net-zero cost impact, primarily supported through the reallocation of funds within department budgets. Enhancements in other funds are supported by available fund balances, ensuring their continued solvency throughout the forecast period.
The following table lists the operating budget enhancements for FY 2025-26 included in the proposed biennial budget that have a staffing and/or financial impact. Staffing impacts are measured as full-time equivalent (FTE). Operational adjustments without staffing or financial impacts are not included. Positions listed with a financial impact are offset with new revenues.
Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
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Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
General Transportation Staffing change to advance road safety, fully funded by reallocation of funds
within the department's budget.
- Convert Transportation Technician
from 0.5 FTE to 0.75 FTE
0.25 Permanent
$ -
General Fire Staffing change to align positions with
operational responsibilities and
departmental needs, fully funded by
reallocation of funds within the
department's budget.
- Add 1 Permanent Fire Equipment
Specialist and delete 0.44 FTE AsNeeded Fire Equipment Specialist
1.0 Permanent
(0.4) AsNeeded
$ -
General Housing and
Human
Services
Communications and Marketing
Coordinator position to promote
awareness of and access to affordable
housing and social services safety net
programs, funded 25% from Housing
Authority Fund, 25% from the Housing
Trust Funds in the Special Revenue
Source Fund, and the remainder
through reallocation of funds within the
General Fund.
- Add 1 Communications and Marketing
Coordinator
1.0 Permanent
$ -
Housing
Authority
- $ 37.7
Special
Revenue
Source
- $ 37.7
General Housing and
Human
Services
Staffing change to enhance afterschool
enrichment programming to engage
underserved youth ages 6-17 at the
Police Activities League (PAL), funded
by reallocation of funds within the
department's budget.
- Convert Community Services Program
Coordinator from 0.75 FTE to 1.0 FTE
0.25 Permanent
$ -
General Housing and
Human
Services
Policy and Performance Analyst to act
as a resource navigator connecting
underserved Santa Monica households
to safety net services and needed
community resources, funded by
reallocation of funds within the
department's budget.
- Add 1 Policy and Performance Analyst
1.0 Permanent
$ -
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Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
General Information
Services
Reorganization of the department to
align with the city's current technology
innovation and support needs. These
changes have net zero impact on the
department's budget.
- Add 1 Technology Program Manager
and delete 1 User Experience Designer
- Add 1 Technology Program Manager
- Delete 1 Information Security Officer
-Delete 1 Customer Experience &
Support Manager
- Add 1 Principal Business Process
Technology Analyst (BPTA) and delete
1 BPTA
- Add 1 Communications Engineer and
delete 1 Network Construction Assistant
- Add 1 Systems Engineer and delete 1
Systems Policy Engineer
Add 1,960 as-needed hours for
Administrative Interns
(1.0)
Permanent
/ 0.9 AsNeeded
$ -
General Recreation
and Arts
As-needed position to enhance
customer service for community events,
meet the growing need for event
permits, and create capacity to
generate future revenue growth. This
change has net zero impact to the
General Fund, as it is funded by
increased revenues.
- Add 0.4 FTE As-Needed Event
Coordinator
0.4 AsNeeded$ 30.6
General Recreation
and Arts
As-Needed support for the restoration
of the Miles Playhouse and the Camera
Obscura Art Lab to provide key cultural
offerings to the community. This
change has net zero impact to the
General Fund, as it is funded by
increased revenues.
- Add 0.1 FTE As-Needed Facilities
Attendant
-Add .0.3 FTE As-Needed Guest
Services Assistant
0.4 AsNeeded$ 85.5
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Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
General Recreation
and Arts
Staffing changes to better serve the
diverse community of participants at the
Santa Monica Swim Center, funded by
reallocation of funds within the
department's budget.
- Convert Permanent Guest Services
Assistant from 0.6 FTE to 0.8 FTE and
delete 0.2 FTE As-Needed Guest
Services Assistant
0.2 Permanent
/ (0.2) AsNeeded
$ -
General Recreation
and Arts
As-Needed staffing change in the
Community Recreation division, to meet
the needs of the community and
changes in recreation demands, funded
by reallocation of funds within the
department's budget.
- Add 0.6 FTE As Needed Facilities
Attendant and delete 0.5 FTE AsNeeded Guest Services Assistant
0.1 AsNeeded$ -
Airport Public Works Ongoing funding for contracted
custodial services to ensure that all
airport properties meet industry
standards for sanitation.
- $ 172.0
Airport Public Works Staffing change to align position with operational responsibilities.
- Add 1 Facilities Asset and Airport
Manager and delete 1 Airport
Operations Administrator
- $ 40.0
Airport Public Works Senior Real Estate Property Manager to provide property management oversight
and manage high-end lease
negotiations.
- Add 1 Senior Real Estate Property
Manager
1.0 Permanent
$ 188.0
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Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
Airport Public Works Staffing changes, including the
conversion of limited term positions to
permanent to align positions with
operational responsibilities and
departmental needs.
-Add 1 Facilities Supervisor and delete
1 Facilities Supervisor (limited-term)
-Add 1 Airport Maintenance Worker and
delete 1 Airport Maintenance Workers
(limited-term)
-Add 1 Trades Intern and delete 1
Trades Intern (limited-term)
-Add 1 Airport Maintenance Worker and
delete 1 Maintenance Assistant
-Add 1 Staff Assistant III and delete 1
Airport Staff Assistant
Add 1 Staff Assistant III and delete 1
Staff Assistant III (limited-term)
- Add 2 Property Management
Specialists / delete 2 Property
Management Specialists (limited-term)
- $ 17.6
General -Add 1 Project Support Assistant and
delete 1 Project Support Assistant
(limited-term) funded by the Airport
Fund through an interfund transfer.
This change has net zero impact to the
General Fund.
- $ -
Beach Recreation
and Arts
Staffing to increase staffing capacity at
the Annenberg Community Beach
House to coordinate private events,
expand city, community and cultural
offerings, funded by reallocation of
funds and increased revenue.
- Add 0.5 FTE Event Coordinator
-Add 0.75 Permanent Staff Assistant III
and delete 0.5 FTE As-Needed Event
Coordinator
1.25 Permanent
/ (0.5) AsNeeded
$ 89.2
Big Blue Bus Transportation Staffing changes to assist with the administrative and marketing needs of
the Community Engagement and
Customer Experience Division.
- Add 1 Assistant Administrative Analyst
0.50 Permanent
$ 60.1
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Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
Big Blue Bus Transportation Extension of limited term position to ensure transportation services to the
community and support economic
recovery efforts. This limited-term
position ends on June 30, 2027.
- Extend 1 Limited-Term Transit
Training Coordinator
1.0 LimitedTerm$ 125.4
Big Blue Bus Transportation Staffing to help establish the new Prohibition Order Program as approved
by City Council on February 11, 2025
(Item 4.G). This is a limited-term
position ending on June 30, 2027.
- Add 1 Limited-Term Administrative
Analyst
1.0 LimitedTerm$ 129.2
Big Blue Bus Transportation Limited-term Motor Coach Operator Supervisor to improve transit
operations. This is a limited-term
position ending on June 30, 2027.
- Add 1 Limited-Term Motor Coach
Operator Supervisor
1.0 LimitedTerm$ 119.6
Cemetery Public Works Funding to cover increased landscape maintenance costs, offset with
corresponding cost recovery fee
increases.
- $ 146.4
Clean
Beaches /
Ocean Parcel
Tax
Public Works Funding to cover the increased cost of
water quality monitoring of urban runoff
discharge in the Santa Monica Bay to
maintain water quality levels and
compliance with contractual obligations.
- $ 185.4
Housing
Authority
Housing and
Human
Services
Funding for staff training to navigate
evolving federal regulations, ensuring
support for vulnerable populations who
depend on housing opportunities and
proper maintenance.
- $ 2.5
Housing
Authority
Housing and
Human
Services
Funding for professional services in
support of housing participants,
including mental health support and
translation services.
- $ 76.0
Housing
Authority
Housing and
Human
Services
Funding for software to support daily
housing operations by connecting
households (individuals and families) to
needed public and community
resources.
- $ 10.5
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Operating Budget Enhancements –
ongoing unless indicated otherwise
Staffing
Changes
FTEs
Enhancement
Amount
(in $1,000s)
Fund Department(s) Description
Housing
Authority
Housing and
Human
Services
Supervising Housing Specialist position
to provide direct supervision and
guidance to Housing Specialists who
administer affordable housing programs
in compliance with federal regulations
and requirements.
- Add 1 Supervising Housing Specialist
and delete 1 Senior Housing Specialist
- $ 11.5
Resource
Recovery &
Recycling
Public Works Funding for increasing costs associated
with landfill services, hazardous waste
management, and rent.
- $ 1,478.7
Resource
Recovery &
Recycling
Public Works Funding to cover the revised allocation
of costs for utilities billing services.
- $ 172.0
Resource
Recovery &
Recycling
Public Works Staffing changes to align positions with
operational responsibilities and
divisional needs.
- Add 1 RRR Business Supervisor and
delete 1 Lead RRR Billing Specialist
- $ 7.4
Selfinsurance,
Workers’
Compensation
and Risk
Management
Administration
Finance and
NonDepartmental
Staffing changes to align positions with
operational responsibilities in the Risk
Management Division, funded by
enterprise funds.
- Add 1 Risk Management Analyst and
delete 1 Volunteer Coordinator
- Add 1 Permanent Staff Assistant III
and delete 0.5 FTE As-Needed Staff
Assistant III
1.0 Permanent
/ (0.5) AsNeeded
$ 72.6
Water Public Works Staffing to support the Water Resources Division's expanded portfolio of facilities
and infrastructure to increase local
water supply and ensure regulatory
compliance.
- Add 1 Water Quality Supervisor
1.0 Permanent
$ 188.4
Wastewater Public Works Staffing to support the Water Resources Division's expanded portfolio of facilities
and infrastructure to increase local
water supply and ensure regulatory
compliance.
- Add 1 Water Chemist
1.0 Permanent
$ 146.4
Total 11.5
Permanent
/ 0.2 AsNeeded
$3,630.4
This detail is also included in the Appendix section of the proposed biennial budget. 20 of 36
Budgeted Positions
The Proposed Budget includes a total of 2,135.3 FTE positions, 1,362.7 of which are in the General Fund. When compared to the number of positions in the FY 2019-20 Adopted Budget, the city is still 162.6 positions (7 percent) below pre-pandemic levels.
As described in the previous table, 11.5 new FTE permanent positions are proposed to be added to the budget (2.7 FTE in the General Fund and 8.8 FTE in the other funds), including 1 position previously added as limited term, which is being extended. The slight increase of 0.2 FTE as-needed positions reflects an increase of 0.7 FTE in the General Fund offset by a decrease of 0.5 FTE in the other funds.
Comprehensive details on all budgeted positions, organized by fund and department, can be found in the personnel and staffing section of the proposed budget book.
Compensation Studies and Equity Adjustments
Employees have a right to request a compensation study of their position classification in accordance with the applicable memoranda of understanding. Whether a compensation study is submitted by an employee, a department, or agreed to during the collective bargaining process, Human Resources (HR) staff undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the marketplace that includes review of comparable positions in other cities in our region, the marketplace in general, and internal alignment with similar positions in the city. The goal of this evaluation is to ensure positions are fairly compensated and the city is able to attract qualified talent in an extremely competitive labor market. When a classification’s salary is adjusted, HR must also evaluate any impact to related classifications, including supervisors and managers, to ensure an appropriate salary differential.
For FY 2025-26, HR is in the process of completing compensation studies with findings to be implemented with the FY 2025-26 Budget. All classifications impacted by equity adjustments are listed in Attachment D. These adjustments will be funded through the reallocation of funds from within departments’ existing FY 2025-27 budgets. Details on 21 of 36
the salary adjustments will be included in the general salary resolution for council adoption on June 24, 2025, with the budget adoption.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget
On June 25, 2024, council adopted the first year and approved the second year of the FY 2024-26 Biennial Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget. Prior to the pandemic, the General Fund allocated $21 million a year to its CIP. This amount was reduced to an annual General Fund allocation between $9.1 million to $13.5 million annually for FY 2020-21 through FY 2023-24. The FY 2024-25 adopted General Fund CIP budget was $13.4 million and the FY 2025-26 proposed General Fund budget is $15.1 million, primarily funding the most critical infrastructure maintenance projects.
The amount allocated to the CIP is not enough to fully address deferred infrastructure and equipment maintenance, technology/computer and fleet replacement, price escalation, and the growing list of unfunded projects to support city parks and facilities.
The changes outlined in the CIP Addendum section of the budget document are revisions to the FY 2025-26, second year of the approved FY 2024-26 Biennial CIP Budget. These changes are limited to priority needs that have arisen and cannot be deferred until the next biennial budget. To better address the most critical projects, staff identified alternative funding options, such as grants, and where feasible and legally allowable, monies from the gas tax, and the Water, Wastewater, Resource Recovery and Recycling, and Airport funds to help fund CIP projects.
Budget plan amounts for FY 2026-27 through FY 2028-29 are included in the budget document as a planning tool to demonstrate total anticipated capital funding needs.
However, project needs will be re-evaluated during each biennial budget cycle to ensure that budgets are adjusted to fall within available funding limits and to best reflect updated city priorities. Because current CIP funding is insufficient, staff continue to explore alternative funding sources and capital financing solutions to provide additional resources for any large projects.
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The entire revised FY 2025-26 CIP Budget (General Fund and Enterprise Funds) totals $108.5 million, a decrease of $8.8 million from the originally approved FY 2025-26 CIP Budget Plan. This budget amount is largely made up of Enterprise Funds with projects that will support the Sustainable Water Master Plan, mobility improvements, and ongoing maintenance projects that protect and maintain city-owned infrastructure.
General Fund CIP Budget Changes
Of the total FY 2025-26 CIP budget, the General Fund portion remains unchanged from the budget plan and represents $15.1 million or 13.9 percent. No additional new projects were funded as part of the FY 2025-26 Exception-Based CIP Budget for the General Fund.
Non-General Fund Budget Changes
Non-General Fund capital projects total approximately $93.4 million, or 86.1 percent, of the total proposed CIP budget. The total net decrease from the previously approved CIP budget for Non-General Fund projects is approximately $8.8 million.
Key FY 2025-26 CIP budget changes include:
• $1.5 million in net increased budget from clean beaches funding sources for Pico-Kenter Outfall and MS4 compliance projects
• $4 million net decreased budget from stormwater fund for Pico-Kenter Outfall • $7.5 million in net decreased budget from miscellaneous grant funding sources for Pier Bridge Replacement Project, Broadway bikeway: 5th Street-26th Street, and Wilshire Safety Project
• $0.45 million net increased budget from gas tax funding sources for annual paving
• $1.3 million net increased budget from local return funding sources for Pier Bridge Replacement Project
• $5.2 million net decreased budget from water funding sources primarily due to timing and pushing CIPs to outyears and $4 million increased budget from 23 of 36
wastewater funding sources for increased water main replacement and Moss Avenue pump station (MAPS) improvements
• Fleet-related $0.69 million net increased budget changes for a new vehicle for the airport and for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant funded RRR sweepers.
Unfunded CIP List
Projects that were eliminated or reduced to help close the city’s funding gap resulting from the pandemic or did not receive funding due to extremely limited resources are listed in the unfunded projects table and are tracked for consideration in future funding cycles. In many cases, these are still high priority projects, but very limited resources demand a focus on maintaining existing facilities. At this time, a total of $456.6 million in projects remain unfunded, including Airport Park expansion (not to be confused with the Airport Conversion Project, which does not yet have cost estimates or funding strategy), a complete remodel of Parking Structure 1 and other parking structure upgrades, the Memorial Park expansion project, City Hall north building system upgrades, Pier deck and west end substructure upgrades, fire station facilities, facilities renewal program improvements, and city yards modernization improvements.
A complete list of budget changes and unfunded projects is included in the CIP section of the proposed budget.
City Fees, Fines and Rates
As part of the annual budget adoption process, staff presents master fee, fine, and parking resolutions to the council for approval. Per the city’s fiscal policies, a citywide fee/cost of services study is conducted at least once every five years. The last study was presented to the council as part of the FY 2021-23 biennial budget. The next study is planned to begin in late 2025 to be presented to the council as part of the FY 2026-27 exception year budget. In the years between studies, most fees are administratively adjusted by a factor equal to the net change in city salaries, benefits and workers’ compensation costs for that fiscal year. The administrative adjustment for FY 2025-26 is 4.1 percent.
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Fees
Staff has undertaken focused reviews of several program areas to propose new fees or revisions to existing fees. Proposed changes are briefly discussed below and detailed in Attachment E. The actual final proposed resolutions for fees, fines and rates will be presented for adoption with the proposed budget on June 24, 2025.
Community Development
The community development department is proposing eight new fees for FY 2025-26 in code enforcement, and a total of four description revisions in city planning and building and safety, including:
• Beach Encroachment Application Fee (1): Cost-recovery fees for the processing of beach encroachment applications by the beach and pier administrator and business assistant at the fully burdened hourly rate. • Code Enforcement Investigation/Inspection Fees (7): Proposed fees include code enforcement inspection fees; a reinspection fee for non-compliance; costrecovery fees for investigations and inspections; and monitoring charges.
Finance
The Finance Department is proposing to remove the “returned check processing fee (license fees)” from the master fee schedule and adding a footnote mentioning that this fee has been removed from the fee schedule. This fee has been adjusted to the standard non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees, which are already incorporated in the master fee schedule.
Fire
The Fire Department is revising 16 fees, including adjusting fees in accordance with rates established by the county of Los Angeles (10); adding footnotes to existing fees (5); and revising fee information for transparency (1).
Housing and Human Services
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The Housing and Human Services Department is proposing to remove four fees, including removing the staffing fee for room rentals as the responsibility of managing these fees has transitioned to the current tenant of the Ken Edwards Center and removing the half-day and extended day care fees from the CREST Camp Program as they are no longer offered.
Library
The Library is adding one fee and revising 20 fees related to meeting room rentals to align the current fees to market rate and four fee increases for cost recovery of library staff time. In addition, the Library is proposing two new fees that are related to special events at the Main Library and Ocean Park Branch as an additional source of revenue.
Police
The Police Department is proposing five new fees for cat licensing. These fees are proposed in accordance with the new city ordinance allowing cat owners to obtain a license for their pet. The cat license would assist in returning cats to their owners and reduce the number of impounded cats in the animal shelter.
Public Works
The Public Works Department has a total of 207 fee revisions, with 176 proposed fee changes in the cemetery (the cemetery has a comprehensive fee structure for the variety of services and fee levels of location desirability). These proposed fee changes are primarily for cost recovery purposes, to capture increased costs of contracted services at the Woodlawn Cemetery. Six fees have been moved from the Office of Sustainability and the Environment to Civil Engineering (2) and Water Resources (4) to better align with reorganizations/current oversight and comply with proposition 218, respectively. In addition, 19 other fees were revised to include units of measure (UOM) and additional footnotes.
Recreation and Arts
The Recreation and Arts Department is proposing six new fees and five revisions. The proposed new fees are hourly rentals for the Miles Memorial Playhouse and Camera 26 of 36
Obscura Art Laboratory and production fees associated with the Miles Memorial Playhouse. Revisions to the fee schedule include a fee change for the additional charge for providing surfing instruction and youth group beach/water activity on Santa Monica State Beach (from 10% of gross receipts to 15%).
Transportation
The Department of Transportation’s Mobility Division is proposing to remove the employee annual transportation fee as the Workplace Transportation Plan (WTP) was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and officially removed by council on June 11, 2024 (Item 10.B) (Attachment F). In addition, the number of employees for employers filing either an employee trip reduction plan or mobile source emissions reduction credit plan was revised from 50+ employees to 30+ and the transportation demand program manager position was restored, replacing the transportation management coordinator. Eighteen fee descriptions were revised to include new footnotes, and three new fees are being proposed to better align with cost recovery efforts for services that are required to be performed on overtime.
Fines
A total of 21 fines have been added to the administrative citation fine schedule for FY 2025-26. Eighteen new fines have been added relating to seismic retrofitting violations and three fines regarding Food and Agriculture Code 30804.7 have been added for the impounding of unspayed/unneutered dogs on various occurrences. The description for Food and Agriculture Code 30503 has also been revised and there is no impact on the current fine.
Measure K Allocations
Santa Monica instituted a 10 percent parking facility tax (PFT) in 1993. This tax currently applies to all public and private parking lots and structures in the city for occupying a parking space in any parking facility. In the November 2024 election, voters approved Measure K, to increase the PFT to 18 percent, exempting city owned lots and structures from the increase, and is estimated to generate approximately $6.7 million General Fund revenue annually to help fund city services. Measure K was 27 of 36
accompanied by a voter approved advisory measure, Measure PSK, to guide spending of half of the additional revenue raised by Measure K. As an advisory measure, Measure PSK does not legally require the City Council to expend the revenues in any particular way. Nevertheless, guided by the ballot language on Measures K and PSK, the budget includes several proposals to address public safety and ensure safe streets for all modes of movement. These proposals are fully detailed in the Measure K section recommendations in the proposed budget.
The proposals reflect the city’s 360 degree approach to public safety, including:
• Expanding the homeless liaison program by adding one police officer position; • Expanding the Drone as a First Responder Program by adding two police officer positions and funds for equipment;
• Adding proactive security monitoring solution at Main Library, Miles Playhouse and Camera Obscura;
• Expanding traffic enforcement personnel by two police officer positions to improve traffic safety, including commercial traffic safety; • Piloting a city-operated run ambulance operator program to increase the city’s capacity to provide timely ambulance transport by deploying basic life support (BLS) ambulances, which seek to improve patient care by reducing delays in ambulance availability, especially for low-acuity calls, and helps free up paramedic engine companies for higher-priority incidents; • Starting in FY 2027-28, establish ongoing funding for 24/7 coverage of the Therapeutic Transport Team; and,
• Addressing the need for ongoing replacement of copper wire due to theft to repair and maintain city streetlights by funding one electrician and establishing a budget for operating costs and materials.
Likewise, there are proposals that will further the city’s efforts to ensure safety for all modes of movement on city streets, including:
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• Increasing funding for both neighborhood traffic calming and transformational projects along major corridors to address safety issues at critical areas across the city;
• Resuming “Safe Routes to School” and “Safe Routes for Seniors” programming to increase safety education and outreach for vulnerable road users; • Reconfiguring the z-gates on the Expo Bike Path and implementing “no right on red” restrictions at scramble crosswalks in the downtown district; • Adding license plate reading technologies in city parking structures to promote public safety, enhance the customer experience, and recover lost parking revenue; and,
• Funding traffic and mobility staff needed to advance these projects.
Council Budget Priorities and Departmental Workplans
The FY 2025-2027 Proposed Biennial Budget is focused on three priorities identified and approved by the council:
• Economic Opportunity and Growth
Foster a “Culture of Yes” within the city by speeding the permit approval process for new homes and businesses, reducing taxes and fees on vital economic activity, streamlining internal decision-making processes, relaxing zoning restrictions, and expanding public-private partnerships that leverage the city’s public resources.
• Clean Streets and Safe Neighborhoods
Prioritize investments in “Eyes on the Street” to promote a sense of safety in public spaces — including activations, officer foot and bike patrols, street lighting infrastructure, camera technology, and behavioral health services — and eliminate deaths and severe injuries on our streets through robust traffic engineering and enforcement.
• Affordable, Livable and Secure Housing for All
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Ensure Santa Monica remains a welcoming and safe “City for All” by reducing the time and cost of building new homes, subsidizing affordable, permanent supportive, and workforce housing, and preserve and maintain rent control housing stock and bestowing renters with tenure security, economic assistance, and the right to peaceful enjoyment of their homes.
Collectively, these priorities aim to ensure the long-term wellbeing of the Santa Monica community. These priorities and other council direction informed staff budget recommendations as well as the development of departmental workplans with approximately 300 projects. These projects are not the totality of all city projects but are listed if they meet one or more criteria: advance a council priority, respond to council directive (i.e. 16 items), have broad organizational impact, have broad community impact, or further the city’s work on equity and sustainability. Further, these projects are drawn from council-adopted policy documents such as the Homelessness Strategic Plan, mobility plans, the Sustainable City Plan, our CIP funded projects, and the city’s Housing Element, along with other departmental strategic plans. The goal of the departmental workplans is, in partnership with the budget performance metrics, to help inform council and the community on how the city’s budget is being implemented. These workplans become the focus of major work efforts within the departments and are expanded and adjusted throughout the year as new council direction is received or other issues require staff to change focus to address different things to support council and the community.
In recent years, staff has worked to incorporate between 80 and 100 councilmember directives into department workplans each year. This instigates a process of reprioritization whereby some projects must be postponed to accommodate new priorities. This can prove to be very disruptive and slow staff’s work to implement the adopted budget and council priorities.
The inclusion of the workplans in the budget provides an opportunity for the council and community to review these workplans ahead of budget adoption and to provide input on priorities and to ensure council initiatives are represented to help focus staff on the most 30 of 36
important work for the year ahead. The better staff understands the priorities from council, the better able they are to successfully and efficiently complete projects and directives aligned with council’s vision and priorities.
Departmental workplans can be found in the Priority Areas and Performance Measures section of the attached proposed budget.
Rental Registry
On Aug. 22, 2023, amidst record evictions, council directed the city manager and city attorney to develop and implement protections for the 70 percent of Santa Monicans who are renters. Specific efforts identified included expansion of right to counsel services and flexible financial assistance to keep vulnerable renters housed. It also included a desire for a registry of non-rent-controlled rental units in the city to streamline code enforcement and measure vacancy rates and emerging trends around displacement citywide. Direction on the rental registry was reiterated by council at its budget workshop on March 8, 2025. On March 11, 2025, council appropriated Measure GS funds to expand the Right to Counsel Program and launch a new Flexible Financial Assistance Program as part of implementation of the city’s broader 2025-2030 Homelessness Strategic Plan. As of April 2025, the Housing and Human Services Department (HHS) has been assigned to lead development of an expanded registry that will account for all non-rent-controlled units within the city. The Rent Control Agency already maintains a registry of over 26,000 rent-controlled units representing approximately 60-70 percent of Santa Monica’s rental stock. HHS is currently in discussions with Code Enforcement, the Rent Control Agency and other city departments to determine how best to capture the desired information for the non-rentcontrolled housing stock, including developing appropriate software for the requested data.
Staff seeks direction from the council regarding the intended use of the registry to ensure the proposed design meets council’s desired goals. Staff’s understanding of the purpose of the registry is outlined below. In the absence of additional council direction, 31 of 36
HHS will proceed with program development for non-rent-controlled units based on the following objectives:
a. Enforce violations of state rental caps
b. Enforce violations of short-term rental ordinances
c. Track length of vacancies (of units that are listed for rent, this would not include homes which are empty but not being listed for rent)
d. Establish a vacancy tax
HHS is in an investigative research phase, which will include an interdepartmental working group comprised of representatives from the City Attorney’s Office, the Rent Control Agency, the Code Enforcement Division, and the Information Services, and Finance departments. Efforts are focused on developing a system to capture data for the city’s non-rent-controlled units. HHS will return to council in October with a plan to move forward.
Hybrid Work
The hybrid work policy for the city of Santa Monica was first piloted in 2019, expanded in 2020 with the COVID-19 emergency, and was most recently revised in March 2023.
Participation in the hybrid work program is a voluntary privilege. Eligible employees wishing to participate must complete a request form to be approved by their respective department head. Approved participants may telework up to three days per week and must record those telework days in the payroll system using the telework payroll code.
Based on a recent council request for information, HR conducted a survey to gather information related to current participation in the program. The results indicated approximately 40 percent of the city’s workforce is eligible for telework; however, only 30 percent participate in the program. Participants average two telework days per week.
To address some of the concerns regarding the program, some departments have established anchor days to promote staff connection. Likewise, staff is working to standardize all City Hall counter hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to improve customer service. 32 of 36
The city’s program is a competitive one as compared to surrounding cities. (see below) Likewise, hybrid work has proven to be a critical recruitment tool for many difficult to fill positions in a very tough labor market. Therefore, no changes to the hybrid work policy are being made at this time but HR staff will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and, if needed in the future, update the policy.
CITY TELEWORK
PROGRAM?
TYPE SIGNED
AGREEMENT
REQUIRED?
Beverly Hills Yes Hybrid (up to 3
days/week)
Yes
Culver City Yes Hybrid Yes
El Segundo No N/A N/A
Glendale Yes Hybrid (up to 1
day/week)
Yes
Manhattan Beach Yes Hybrid Yes
Pasadena Yes Hybrid (up to 2
days/week)
Yes
Santa Monica Yes Hybrid (up to 3
days/week)
Yes
Council Travel Funds
Each fiscal year, the City Council is allocated a total of $60,676 to support travel-related expenses for the Mayor and six Councilmembers. These funds — divided equally among members at $8,668 each — may be used to cover mileage reimbursement, conference and meeting registration fees, airfare, lodging, and per diem.
With rising costs, particularly for lodging and conference registration, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Councilmembers to attend conferences or fulfill responsibilities assigned by the City Council within the current allocation.
To maximize use of the existing travel budget without increasing the overall allocation, staff seeks direction on two potential alternatives for revising the current Council travel funds policy:
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Note: All cost estimates provided in the alternatives below are conservative and include travel, lodging, registration, and per diem. Regardless of which option is selected, Councilmembers should expect that these allocations may not fully cover the cost of attending such events and will require use of a portion of their individual travel budgets.
Alternative 1: Designate Additional Funds to the Mayor
This alternative would set aside $6,150 specifically for the Mayor to attend the following meetings:
• United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Winter Meeting: $2,950 • United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Annual Meeting: $2,950 • Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) General Assembly: $250 The remaining $54,526 would be divided equally among all seven members of the City Council, resulting in an individual allocation of $7,789 per year.
This approach acknowledges the Mayor’s unique travel obligations, particularly to national and regional policy bodies.
Alternative 2: Designate Additional Funds to the Mayor and Appointed Representatives This alternative builds on Alternative 1 by also reserving funds for other Councilmembers who are appointed by the Council to represent the City at key conferences:
• Independent Cities Association (ICA) Winter Meeting: $1,500 • Independent Cities Association (ICA) Summer Meeting: $1,500 • Cal Cities Annual Conference: $1,000
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Including the $6,150 set aside for the Mayor, Alternative 2 results in a total set-aside of $10,150, leaving $50,526 to be equally divided among all Councilmembers. Under this structure, each member would receive $7,123 annually.
This option acknowledges the additional cost burden on Councilmembers appointed to represent Santa Monica at key regional and state events and ensures that representation does not come at the expense of other learning or advocacy opportunities.
Current Alt 1 Alt 2
Mayor $8,688 $13,939 $13,939
Councilmember (6) $8,688 $7,789 $7,123
Assigned Trael – ICA Winter $0 $0 $1,500
Assigned Travel – ICA Summer $1,500
Assigned Travel – Cal Cities $1,000
Total $60,676 $60,676 $60,676
Next Steps
Council will convene a public hearing on June 24, 2025 to consider, receive public comment, and adopt the first year and approve the second year of the biennial budget, as well as to adopt the second year of the CIP Biennial Budget.
Environmental Review
The FY 2025-27 Proposed Budget is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA guidelines. The Proposed Budget is covered by the common sense exemption, which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that actions would not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and as such, is categorically exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The Fiscal Year 2025-2027 Proposed Biennial Budget is:
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Revenues FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27
General Fund $ 470,416,570 $ 488,381,527
Other Funds 455,171,587 485,850,712
less Reimbursements & Transfers (R&T) A (115,372,270) (119,357,376) Total Citywide Revenues $ 810,215,887 $ 854,874,863
Operating Expenditures FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27
General Fund $ 465,709,350 476,268,925
Other Funds 331,097,591 333,916,396
less Reimbursements & Transfers (R&T) A (100,005,680) (103,332,984) Total Citywide Operating Expenditures $ 696,801,261 $ 706,852,337 Capital Expenditures FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27
General Fund $ 15,160,829 $ 19,500,552
Other Funds 93,335,471 115,128,001
less Reimbursements & Transfers (R&T) A (15,366,590) (16,024,392) Total Citywide Capital Expenditures $ 93,129,710 $ 118,604,161 A These are technical adjustments to eliminate double counting of certain revenues and expenditures appearing in two funds.
FY 2025-27 Staffing Permanent As-Needed Total
General Fund 1,286.0 76.7 1,362.7
Other Funds 764.0 8.6 772.6
Total Citywide FTE 2,050.0 85.3 2,135.3
Staff will integrate direction from the study session in the preparation of the final budget that will come before the council for adoption on June 24, 2025. At this meeting, staff will recommend adoption of the first year and approval of the second year of the FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget, as well as the adoption of the second year of the CIP Biennial Budget.
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Prepared By: Christopher Smith, Deputy City Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A - FY 2025-27 Proposed Biennial Budget and Capital Improvement Program Budget for FY 2025-26 (Web Link)
B. Attachment B - March 8 Council Workshop (Web Link)
C. Attachment C - Federal Funding Impacts
D. Attachment D - Classifications Impacted by Equity Adjustments E. Attachment E - Revisions to Fees & Fines Schedule
F. Attachment F - Amend Santa Monica Chapter Code 9.53 to Align the City’s Transportation Demand Management Ord (Web Link)
G. Written Comments
H. Motion Submitted by CM Zwick
I. PowerPoint Presentation