It’s that time of year again: when Berkeley officials review the budget to make sure the city’s June financial projections were on track and decide exactly how to spend — and save — its extra revenue.
Teresa Berkeley-Simmons
Posted inCity, Opinion
Op-ed: The decay of Berkeley’s infrastructure
On May 12, the city of Berkeley’s budget manager, Teresa Berkeley-Simmons, will present to city council the proposed spending over the next five years for capital improvements. This includes money to be spent on sidewalks, streets, parks, storm drains, sewers, and transportation such as bike improvement projects. Between 2016 and 2020, Berkeley plans to decrease […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley city budget in good short-term shape, but problems loom with pension costs
When the Berkeley City Council held a worksession on the budget on Feb. 25, there was good news and bad news. The good news is that Berkeley’s revenues are up and expenses are down in the current fiscal year. Using very conservative forecasts, Berkeley budget manager Teresa Berkeley-Simmons projected revenues in the 2014 fiscal year […]
Posted inCity
Budget: Spending cuts needed to avoid shortfall
Berkeley’s General Fund projections include a deficit of more than $5 million over the next two years, requiring city leaders to take a tough look at its more cash-strapped departments to reign in costs. To close the gap, the city’s budget manager has recommended recurring 2% General Fund reductions across the board for city departments. […]
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City’s best scenario: cuts of $12.5 million
Some of the scale of the budget difficulties face by the City of Berkeley was painted graphically at a special session of the City Council last night. The city faces a deficit of $3 million in its general fund and $9.5 million in its special funds that could require the elimination of 96 positions over […]
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City budget faces $1.8 million mid-year shortfall
The City Council tonight will hear a report on mid-year budget revisions for the current fiscal year, designed to respond to a revenue shortfall of $1.8 million. According to City Manager Phil Kamlarz, planned savings are already on track for $1 million. The remaining $800,000 of the deficit will be covered by deferring capital expenditures, […]
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Council faces tough decisions on unfunded liabilities
The Berkeley City Council special session on the $310 million — or higher — unfunded liability on promised employee benefits revealed the difficult choices faced by the city. A presentation by budget manager Teresa Berkeley-Simmons made the root of the problem clear. The California Public Employee Retirement System (Calpers) assumed annual investment returns of 7.75%. […]