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During this presentation, I outlined our current financial situation and the impacts of the recession on our city budget.
Santa Clarita has a 100 percent track record for producing a balanced and on-time budget, and this year will be no exception.
We have a fully funded 15 percent reserve which the City Council has made a priority over the last several years.
"The decisions we make in good times are more important than the decisions we make in bad times" has been our mantra at City Hall.
What this means is that during the financially robust years, our city didn't take on excessive debt, didn't spend beyond its means or hire extra people.
This practice of frugality has yielded big results during the Great Recession of the 21st century. Santa Clarita has not reduced services or programs, nor have we laid off staff.
We have postponed some major projects like a new gym at the Sports Complex, but we are moving forward with the construction of a new library in Old Town Newhall.
To date, we have 30 positions "frozen" and our staff is working hard to continue our tradition of high customer service.
To be clear, we do not have a spending deficit, what we have is less money in the new fiscal year than last year.
If we were to continue with the current spending, we would have a deficit.
I will not recommend a budget with a deficit and will continue to reduce spending to assure a balanced budget. As in the past, our budget will be balanced and adopted on time.
While other municipalities are looking at bankruptcy, major layoffs and dramatically reduced services, the city of Santa Clarita's bond rating was increased to AA+ - this is our second increase in five years.
We also have received awards for the highest standard of budgeting and fiscal management for more than 20 consecutive years.
As always, the city's budget is available online at www.santa-clarita.com.
