Roseville City Council passes $493.8 Million Budget

Roseville, Calif. – At its June 15th meeting, the Roseville City Council approved a $493.8 million balanced budget for fiscal year 2016-2017, which begins July 1, 2016. 

The size of the budget reflects the full range of municipal services our city provides.  Roseville is a full-service city, which means the city operates its own electric, water and refuse utilities, parks, libraries and public safety departments.

Very few cities in California provide the same breadth of service.  They’re usually provided by an assortment of special districts, companies and joint-power authorities. 

Providing these services increases the city budget but ultimately provides higher quality, greater efficiency and local control for our residents and businesses than if these services were provided by a third-party or special district.

Roseville’s economy is doing well. Building permits are up, commercial investment is returning and the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the state and dropping.

General Fund revenues are expected to grow by $2.4 million in FY2016-17, but General Fund expenses are also expected to be up, by $2.8 million.  We prioritized maintaining our core services, putting money away for the next economic downturn and balancing our budget.

The City will continue to be strategic in pursuing any new initiatives, making sure they make sense, provide value to our community and provide long-term fiscal sustainability.

Challenges remain however.  The economic downturn required the City to use one-time monies to maintain our levels of service.  The State continues to push unfunded mandates onto cities.  These challenges have hindered the City’s ability to fully fund our long-term liabilities including facility maintenance, pensions and retiree health benefits.

Part of our strategy for long-term budget relief is to replenish funds we borrowed from during the downturn.  The City Council adapted policies that resulted in several funds being funded at a 100% confidence level. 

With the support of the City’s labor groups, we are slowing future salary growth, which is key to reducing future expenses. The City have reached agreement on labor contracts through 2018 with five of our six labor groups which will assist in reducing future expenses. We begin negotiations with the remaining group this fall.

Overall, Roseville sits in a good position.  We are flexible enough to provide the services our residents and businesses expect while being in a position to handle the next economic storm.