by Garth Meyer
Redondo Beach city revenue was up 3% over estimates for fiscal year 2024-25, and spending down two percent.
At the start of the current fiscal year, the council tapped $3.5 million from the city’s pension reserve to balance the budget, city finance director Stephanie Meyer noted in a Feb. 17 budget analysis presented to the city council.
“Overall, greater revenue than anticipated in ‘24-’25, and lower spending than anticipated,” Meyer said.
She showed general statistics which contributed to the boost, namely property tax – assessed valuations going up more than expected.
“A consistent upward trend. The remainder of our revenue sources are relatively flat,” Meyer said.
City Manager Mike Witzsansky surmised that the situation could lead to not needing to draw from reserves for fiscal year 2026-27, which starts in July.
“We can’t yet guarantee that. We obviously have a lot of forecasting to do first before we can say that definitively,” Witzansky told the council. “But it would be nice to have that basis as a starting point.”
The Redondo Beach Fire Department ended the 2024-25 fiscal year over budget, for the not-unexpected reason of overtime, Meyer explained.
“We look to maintain a balance of savings, salaries and overtime… We probably budgeted a bit low,” she said. “We have it at a better level for ’25-’26. We don’t anticipate seeing this again.”
The city’s budget and finance commission reviewed the total 2024-25 numbers Feb. 12.
A mid-year ‘25-’26 report is coming March 17.
“Obviously the goal is to avoid using reserves as we did for our current budget. We’re in a pretty good position to do that now,” Meyer said. “It’s a positive sign at the moment.” ER
