Fullerton City Council agreed on Tuesday to adopt the annual operating budget for the Fiscal Year 2022-2022.
The budget will cover the General Fund, the Capital Improvement Program, and other city funds while approving the city’s schedule of fees and Annual Appropriations with Parks and Recreations being the exception.
Despite concerns about the impact that the upcoming budget will have on next year, Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Whitaker remains optimistic on the city’s future.
“I always had a principle to not vote for a budget that has a structural imbalance, but in this case, I think we have worked this over really well”, Whitaker said.
The General Fund Expenditure of $114.3 million will be split into six different programs in the city. The police department will be subsidized the most amount from all of the programs at $53.4 million; the fire department will receive $29.1 million, human & leisure services receiving $9.4 million, and public works receiving $9 million.
The fire department and public works will both have a $2 million increase from the 2021-2022 fiscal year; the police department funding will see a $600,000 increase.
The city government will see an increase of $7.4 million in their budget, with the community and economic development also being given $5.7 million.
The Capital Improvement Program, which is a five-year plan to improve Fullerton’s infrastructures will have $44.6 million to work on projects involving water, sewers, storm drains, and park infrastructure.
$12 million will go towards fixing local streets, with $6.5 million for road maintenances.The project will use $5.5 million of the $13 million received from the American Rescue Plan act, a COVID-19 relief package signed by President Biden in 2021.
Of the $23.2 million allocated towards utility infrastructure, $17.9 million will go to water funds, $1.7 million will be added to the Sewer Fund, $1.6 million will be distributed towards the Drainage Capital Outlay Fund, and $2.0 million from the APRA funding.
Traffic systems will cost $2.9 million, with $1.6 million going towards M2 Grants and $1.3 million going towards gas taxes and traffic mitigation fees. This plan will look to add new traffic signals along with equipment replacement.
Park and facility infrastructure will receive $6.2 million, rounding out the major financial disbursements.
The 2022-2023 fiscal year will begin on July 1.
