ESCONDIDO — The City Council approved a balanced budget on June 18, with a surplus of approximately $7.1 million aided by additional revenue from Measure I, the city’s one-cent sales tax approved by voters last fall.
The city projects it will generate $38.5 million from Measure I, boosting total revenues to nearly $178.6 million, with expenditures projected at $171.5 million.
Revenue from the sales tax will fund a variety of new one-time and annual investments in infrastructure and staffing.
One-time investments include $1.3 million for roof repairs; $350,000 for new plumbing in the California Center for the Arts conference center kitchen; $275,000 for motor lifts on the theater and concert hall stage; $2.7 million for two new fire utility trucks and three pumpers; $3.9 million for 37 new police vehicles; and $1.35 million for water and wastewater services.
Annual spending includes $600,000 for new elevators citywide, $125,000 for HVAC duct cleaning, and $1.7 million for police maintenance and operations. The city had planned to allocate $4 million for a new Climatec energy financing plan, but ongoing discussions have delayed a final decision until August.
The budget also provides for 27 new staff positions, nine upgrades from part-time to full-time roles, and the reinstatement of three positions previously cut due to the city’s structural deficit.
Most of the new positions are in Development Services, including an associate planner, principal planner, senior planner, two code compliance officers, a building inspector, a traffic engineering project manager and an assistant director of the city’s Public Works department.
Other additions include eight full-time park rangers, a division chief, a battalion chief and administrative support roles for the Escondido Fire Department.
“This is going to be absolutely monumental in terms of services,” said Councilmember Christian Garcia.
While Measure I has enabled the city to reinvest in services across the community, Director of Finance Christina Holmes has warned that long-term fiscal challenges remain, including a potential structural deficit of $10 million to $24 million by 2035.
“Despite multiple actions taken each year to address the structural budget deficit and the city’s efforts to fund projects with grants and other sources of one-time funds, it has not been enough to meet the growing costs and demands for services,” Holmes said. “The passage of Measure I provides funding for the next 20 years that will mitigate the impacts of this structural deficit and provide staff time to explore additional ways to align revenues with expenditures.”
While heeding words of caution, Mayor Dane White said he remains optimistic about the city’s direction.
“The future was looking pretty bleak for the city, and now all of these investments are going to make this the premier city in San Diego County,” White said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what comes from all of these investments.”
