In a special Oakdale City Council session on Thursday night, June 1, members of the council met with the public and outlined the proposed city budget for fiscal year 2017-18.

The spending plan will take effect July 1, 2017 and run through June 30, 2018.

City Manager Bryan Whitemyer provided an overview and said there are some areas of concern within the budget – a plan that projects over $10.7 million in general fund expenditures for the year.

The projected General Fund Ending Balance (reserve) on June 30, 2018 is anticipated to be $4,172,629 or 39 percent of the proposed general fund expenditures.

“The ending balance is slightly lower than the council goal of 40 percent due to the significant PERS and fire cost increases,” said Whitemyer.

For the fiscal year, added Whitemyer, expenditures are projected to increase by $557,981 and the majority of the increases are in the following areas: a CalPERS pension cost increase of $258,275; a fire dispatch cost increase of $34,920 and a fire contract cost increase of $245,045.

Additionally, the general fund balance is anticipated to grow by just over $49,000 in the coming fiscal year. The budget proposal also includes a negotiated 2 percent cost of living increase for city employees.

Whitemyer said preliminary indications are that the city should be “able to maintain most of its service levels” at this time.

“However, in future years the City is expecting significant CalPERS pension cost increases that will make providing the same level of service to the community more and more difficult,” Whitemyer added.

He said while the city has planned carefully and council members have worked diligently to prepare for cost increases, the city must remain cautious with its expenditures.

City Council members were slated to review and adopt the preliminary budget at their Monday night meeting on June 5 following a public hearing.