The City of Tustin utilizes a biennial budget process, with appropriations adopted annually for each fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30. This approach provides a longer-term planning framework while allowing the City to remain responsive to changing economic conditions, operational needs, and community priorities. This budget document serves as a comprehensive financial plan, outlining how resources are allocated to support core services, infrastructure investment, and community programs. It reflects the City’s ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility, transparency, and strategic resource management. Fiscal Sustainability Strategy FY 2026–2027 represents the second year of the City Council’s 10-year Fiscal Sustainability Strategy, which was adopted in accordance with best practices identified by the Government Finance Officers Association for establishing a sustainable, structurally balanced budget. The strategy is designed to align recurring operating revenues with recurring operating expenses in a sustainable manner over the next 10 years.
Key Objectives of the Fiscal Sustainability Strategy To achieve long-term fiscal sustainability, the City has established the following key objectives:
• Increasing General Fund recurring revenues by advancing development of City-owned properties, generating ongoing revenues such as sales tax and property taxes • Decreasing General Fund recurring expenses by continuing to explore pension paydown strategies and other operational efficiencies • Reducing the use of one-time revenues to fund the following: o Maintaining General Fund reserves (Council Policy sets reserves at 15% to 20% of annual General Fund operating expenditure) o Paying down unfunded pension accrued liability o Ongoing operations and programs Community Engagement Public participation remains an important component of the budget process. The City provides opportunities for community input through public budget workshop, budget video, and budget-in-brief publication. The various outreach channels help to ensure that the budget reflects resident priorities and maintains transparency in decision-making. Budget Development Timeline
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