San Mateo’s capital improvement budget is undergoing shifts in its funding sources amid a projected operating deficit and tax revenue uncertainty.
The city maintains a capital improvement budget, separate from its operating budget, to fund infrastructure-related projects, ranging from street repair to wastewater updates. But the overall health of its operating budget, including general fund, still impacts capital improvement financing.
This upcoming fiscal year, which starts in July, required some changes in funding source allotments. For instance, the typical general fund annual contribution to the capital budget will likely be half the typical amount, and contributions from the Measure S sales tax is also lower.
“We budgeted about $3 million and $3.7 million in Measure S funds the previous two fiscal years,” Finance Director Abby Veeser said during a council meeting April 20. “Because we kind of over-budgeted those two years, we need to under-budget this year in order to build that balance.”
The city plans to offset the loss with some Measure CC funds — a property transfer tax — and a dip into its capital reserve. The changes are part of a larger five-year capital improvement plan, with street and transportation projects accounting for $57 million over five years and $228 million for sewer projects, the latter accounting for roughly 65% of the project.
Other projects that will be at least partially funded and advance in the upcoming fiscal year include a new fire station, several playground upgrades — including Washington and Trinta parks — as well as the Skate Plaza improvements.
Perhaps the most highly-anticipated effort is a revamp of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. The effort will be completed in two separate phases, with the first phase partially funded already — a little over $5 million already allocated — which will go to early design and preconstruction work for a new pool and locker rooms, among other updates. In response to widespread community concern in the North Central neighborhood, City Manager Alex Khojikian confirmed that should the council approve the current proposals, the first phase would still continue to advance.
“If you’re putting that type of money, and we’re going to expend funds moving towards that, I don’t see how you would want to do a U-turn,” Khojikian said during the meeting. “We would have to come up either through outside grants or other funding streams within our city budget to go ahead and fund the full amount of phase one.”
Both phases of the MLK project are expected to cost roughly $16 million. The City Council will review the item again with final adoption in June.
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(3) comments
So are we hearing the excuse…we’ve already planned for it so we can’t stop and we must continue to plow money into it? Sound familiar? It’s the logic for the boondoggle train to nowhere which has essentially become (and many predicted) a union jobs program to the tune of $231 billion from the original $33 billion. If the revamp of the MLK Jr. Center is not due to safety concerns, a U-turn can be done. Stop with the revamp and use the roughly $16 million for something else. Maybe for street safety improvements my friend eGerd is always pushing.
If the $300M+ in capital is funded with debt by the time all is said and done we will pay over $1B when all is said and done.
Parks do NOT need to be upgraded, they all work just fine. A new feel good union built Fire Station is NOT needed. Please stop spending on things that are NOT needed and spend on infrastructure that is needed, like filling potholes and resurfacing residential streets. Trinta baseball field was a bog and the laughing stock of all local league fields. The grass was 6" thick and a line drive deserving of a double would be swallowed up by Loch Ness outfield. The pitching mound was literally flat. The people brought in a true professional who turned the two Trinta baseball fields into a work of art without the help of the city.
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