The city of Galt’s finance head presented two reports on the city’s fiscal footing at the Feb. 21 Galt City Council meeting, saying the city is in a “better fiscal position” than in previous years. Council also chose to have bidding on a city building roof replacement and issued a resolution marking Rare Disease Day.
Financial report, midyear budget
In his presentation of the city financial report on fiscal year (FY) 2021-22, Finance Director Matthew Boring said the city’s finances have improved compared to the previous fiscal year.
The city of Galt’s total assets increased nearly 6% in FY 2021-22, which ended on June 1 last year. Its total liabilities dropped by nearly 13%. Revenue increased close to 5%, driven by sales and property taxes. Boring said a roughly 10% rise in expenditures resulted from increased capital spending in parks and recreation.
Boring explained later that some of the spending increase is due to use of saved up grant money, which would have been noted in the revenue of previous years.
Due to the way certain income and spending is accounted for, the General Fund had lower revenue and expenditures than originally budgeted, and its total balance increased about 23% over the previous fiscal year. The fund continues to subsidize the city’s lighting and landscaping districts (LLDs), which run yearly deficits; in 2021-22, the General Fund contribution was about $383,000.
An external auditor voiced no concerns with the city’s accounting practices.
When Council Member Shawn Farmer noted that the money for LLDs was lower than in the past, Boring explained that there had been a fund balance from the previous year and that restated leases added assets to the balance sheet.
Boring told Vice Mayor Paul Sandhu that the city has about $4.66 million in dedicated reserves, as well as $8.4 million in unassigned monies.
A bright spot for Mayor Jay Vandenburg was a decrease in long-term liabilities from $21.4 million in FY 2020-21 to $14.1 million in FY 2021-22. Boring said the number changes depending on CalPERS’ investment results and continued that the city is looking at ways to plan for the fluctuations.
Council Member Rich Lozano commended the lack of comments in the audit, and Vandenburg noted that the Finance Department had won an accounting award from a finance-officer association.
Boring also presented proposed midyear budget adjustments. The document upped the General Fund’s projected income from multiple sources by a total of $3.1 million, anticipating some new grants and the implementation of the Measure Q sales tax. It also laid out $3 million in spending increases.
Vandenburg said he would refer to the budget document repeatedly in future, while Farmer confirmed that Council can make other budget changes even after approving the document.
Council unanimously accepted both the annual report and the midyear budget adjustments.
Roof contract sent to bid
Council instructed city staff to hold a competitive bidding process for a roof replacement at a city building.
The Transit Maintenance and Operations Center, at 140 Enterprise Court, is a city-owned building purchased in 2020 for $3.7 million. Four existing tenants pay the city about $120,000 in yearly rent.
Staff recommended awarding a $1.1 million contract to Design-Build Solutions, a subsidiary of Garland Industries, to fully replace the roof. An inspection at the time of purchase estimated that repairs would cost $400,000, but staff said continued leaking would result in more expensive repairs.
The city reached the proposed contract through a “piggyback” arrangement, in which it used the terms of an agreement reached with another government agency. Public Works Director Mike Selling said this saves staff time and resources.
The item had been on the consent calendar, but Farmer asked to have it considered separately. He balked at the price tag for replacement, nearly three times the repair estimate. He and Sandhu voiced concerns about the piggyback process, which Farmer said is unusual for a project of this scale.
Council Member Kevin Papineau moved to approve the contract as presented, but Farmer made an alternate motion to have staff hold a bidding process. Farmer’s motion passed 3-2 with support from him, Vandenburg and Sandhu. Papineau and Lozano were opposed.
Other business
At the urging of local resident Dan Shockley, Council issued a resolution declaring the last day of February to be Rare Disease Day in Galt. Shockley was diagnosed nearly 11 years ago with a rare disease, hereditary colon cancer syndrome. He thanked the council members and said he wants to be “a source of inspiration and encouragement to those who hear about my journey and read about my journey.”
During public comment, Galt District Chamber of Commerce President Madison Delbrugge spoke about her organization’s proposal to use American Rescue Plan Act funds for a city visitors center. She said the chamber will be ready to present a second draft at the March 7 council meeting. Council later reached consensus in favor of putting the presentation on the agenda.
Sandhu appointed Kiratdeep Sandhu to the Public Safety Committee, which completes that committee’s roster. The vice mayor clarified that he and the new appointee are not related.