San Ramon Council Reviews FY26-27 Budget

San Ramon city officials used a May 12 budget review to press a point they have been making since the city began its fiscal 2026-27 process in March: spending growth has to slow before the city’s 10-year Measure N sales tax runs out in 2035. The City Council reviewed a preliminary budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2027, with any revisions set to be folded into a proposed budget later this month. (sanramon.ca.gov) City staff have framed the discussion around a structural gap between recurring revenue and recurring spending, and around how much of that gap can be bridged with temporary tax proceeds. (danvillesanramon.com) The council must adopt a balanced budget by June 30. ### Why are San Ramon officials focused on 2035? (patch.com) Measure N took effect on April 1, 2025, after San Ramon voters approved a 1% local sales tax in November 2024 with 56.21% of the vote, according to the city. The tax is set to remain in effect for 10 years, and the city says it is treating the proceeds as “10 one-time sources of revenue” while it works on longer-term financial resilience. Jennifer Wakeman, San Ramon’s finance director, said in a staff report for the May 12 discussion that the “most significant message in the FY27 preliminary budget is the continuing deficit and growing dependency on Measure N revenues.” Wakeman added that efforts on the city’s financial resilience framework “need to continue in earnest” if San Ramon is to reach a balanced operating budget by fiscal 2035, according to a report on the meeting. (sanramon.ca.gov) ### What is the city saying about the structural deficit? San Ramon’s fiscal model shows expenditures rising faster than revenues over time, according to city budget materials. The city says revenues are increasing by an average of 4% a year while expenditures are increasing by an average of 9% a year, which officials have identified as the main driver of the structural deficit. (sanramon.ca.gov) The March 24 budget kickoff outlined a roadmap that aimed to hold expenditure growth to 2.3%, or 2 percentage points below expected revenue growth, according to the city’s FY27 budget updates page. The city has also adopted operating guidelines that rule out new programs or positions without tradeoffs, spending money not yet received, and long-term commitments that cannot be sustained. (danvillesanramon.com) ### What does the preliminary FY27 budget show right now? The General Fund is projected to total about $76.8 million in operating expenditures before transfers out, according to a city staff report summarized by Patch. That would represent year-over-year growth of about 2.6%, with personnel costs accounting for 72.2%, or $55.4 million, of departmental General Fund budgets. (sanramon.ca.gov) Patch reported that police services were expected to post the largest single increase at 6.35%, while parks and community services were projected to rise nearly 25% to $12.83 million, largely because instructor payments were being reclassified as expenditures rather than offsetting revenue. City administration was projected to increase 8.6% to about $8.68 million, and public works 0.98% to about $20.14 million. (sanramon.ca.gov) ### How much is Measure N contributing to the budget? The city’s fiscal 2025-26 budget included an estimated $14.8 million in Measure N revenue, with $10 million allocated to existing essential city services and $1.9 million to discretionary program or staffing requests. At the time that budget was adopted, $2.9 million remained unallocated, according to the city’s Measure N funding page. (patch.com) For fiscal 2026-27, Measure N revenue was projected at about $14.9 million, roughly $1.5 million above an earlier estimate, according to Patch’s summary of the staff report. Overall General Fund revenue was expected to grow about 1.9%, helped in part by the sales tax receipts. (patch.com) ### What happens before the budget is final? The city’s budget process page says the May 12 meeting was the review of the preliminary budget for FY27. Earlier meetings covered the March 24 kickoff, an April 14 revenue presentation, and an April 28 review of expenditures, reserves, debt service and capital projects. (sanramon.ca.gov) Patch reported that the next formal step is a proposed budget on May 26. San Ramon’s budget process page says the council is required to pass a balanced budget no later than June 30, with the adopted plan taking effect July 1, 2026. (sanramon.ca.gov) (patch.com)