Burlingame budget using reserves

“I think we have relatively conservative revenue forecasts — which I like — but this still imagines hotel tax at $23 [million] or $24 million in a couple of years, and that was well below the high pre-Covid,” Councilmember Michael Brownrigg said. “I’m hoping these numbers will end up looking better against real revenue.” 

A highly anticipated Topgolf opening could also boost city revenue in the spring, Mayor Donna Colson said, and pointed to higher-than-anticipated sales tax revenue as another potential plus. 

Of $35.1 million that will be spent on capital improvement, $10.8 million comes from the city’s general fund and the rest from grants or other enterprise funding. That includes funding for the upcoming Town Square Public Plaza, street projects and integral tree maintenance. 

Aside from capital improvement projects funded via the general fund for the upcoming 2024-25 budget, the city has $10 million in funding set aside for the El Camino Real undergrounding utilities project and $15 million set aside for the Broadway grade separation project — two major upcoming projects.

Burlingame is forgoing its typical $500,000 deposit in its pension fund for the upcoming year, which Colson attributed to previous savings of nearly $20 million, although it’s planning to transfer $3.6 million into its debt services fund. 

“There will be some cost savings we can adjust midyear. We could still contribute to the pension trust if we wanted to at a later point in the year,” Vice Mayor Emily Beach said. 

Currently, the city’s economic stability reserve sits at $20.9 million, its catastrophic reserve at $2 million and its contingency reserve at $500,000. Combined with money saved for pension trust funds, as well as unassigned funds, Burlingame is maintaining a total projected ending fund reserve balance of $42.5 million.

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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