GALT, CA (MPG) - Galt City Council approved the city budget for the next two years at its June 18 meeting, discussing parks and recreation funding and youth sports fees. City Council also heard concerns on the early stages of a well-deepening project.

Presenting the budget for Fiscal Years 2024-25 and 2025-26, Finance director Matthew Boring noted the recently instituted General Fund contribution to the Parks and Recreation Department, set at $928,000. The policy sets aside a portion of 6% of General Fund money for parks and rec based on adjusted spending from the past fiscal year.

Citing the possibility of additional parks and rec expenses, staff recommended transferring close to $1.3 million more in the next two fiscal years, with the option to reallocate the money if it isn’t needed.

Vice-Mayor Rich Lozano planned to vote for the funding arrangement but said staff should have made the extra funding needs clearer when City Council voted on the regular contribution.

Now that the General Fund contribution is in place, Boring said, staff would be able to factor it in during future budget cycles.

The proposal included plans for the Measure Q sales tax, with a projection to spend 100% of the fund’s revenue, $4.7 million on average, in fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Boring said an average of $2.7 million per year, or 57% of Measure Q spending, would go to the Parks and Rec Department. The remainder would go to shore up the city’s landscaping and lighting districts.

Looking at new funding requests, Boring pointed out several items related to parks and rec. The largest asks included $88,000 for new vehicles, $71,000 for Gora Aquatic Center equipment replacement, and close to $64,000 for a shade structure and some new equipment at the Galt Market. Other items are a traffic control truck, new mowers, a floor scrubber, and new tables and chairs for the Littleton Community Center.

The budget includes a deficit in the General Fund in Fiscal Years 2024-25 and 2025-26: about $160,000 and $248,000, respectively.

Boring said the deficits are not an ongoing shortfall but due to one-time capital projects, as well as expenditures funded by revenue received in previous years. He also pointed to spending related to the city’s new partnership with Galt District Chamber of Commerce to support local businesses, which is funded with leftover COVID-19 relief money.

In public comment, Galt resident Harry Wenzel asked that budget elements such as funding allocations and transfers between city funds be presented more clearly.

While he understood the reason for the General Fund deficit spending, resident Chris Brossman said, the city should never run a deficit. He also questioned a $300,000 deficit at the city’s gun range, which it rents to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Boring had said the deficit was caused by one-time capital spending, funded with the range’s reserves.

Councilmember Shawn Farmer objected to fee increases for youth sports programs. He said that the registration for T-ball rose from $75 to $100. Youth basketball registration increased from a range of $75 to $103 to $100 to $130.

“I struggle with approving any of the increases for all the youth sports because they’re staggering increases,” Farmer said.

Interim City Manager Chris Erias said the city loses money on its youth sports programs and doesn’t plan to fully recover costs “but we have to start trying to close the gap somewhat to help pay.”

Mayor Paul Sandhu suggested leaving sports fees unchanged for one year and making up some of the shortfall with Measure Q money. Farmer supported keeping fees unchanged; he also raised the idea of eventually using Measure Q to provide free registration for low-income families.

City Council voted 4-0 to approve the budget, freezing the youth sports fees until further discussion at a future meeting, and removing funding for two proposed public works maintenance positions. Councilmember Kevin Papineau was absent.

During deliberation on the consent calendar, Lozano asked for more information about a proposed contract regarding the Carillion Deep Well Project, which aims to deepen a well on Di Maggio Way off Carillion Boulevard. The well reportedly failed structurally several months ago. The new well would target a deeper aquifer with higher water quality; the Carillion well’s current source requires treatment for arsenic and manganese.

City staff asked for approval on a $1.5 million contract to perform exploratory work and determine the feasibility and effects of a deepened well.

Acting Public Works Director John Griffin said the proposed drilling does not increase capacity, and the focus is on reaching a better water source.

The item drew concerns from Cosumnes Groundwater Authority, which is a joint agency charged with reaching sustainable groundwater usage in Galt and nearby districts that draw from the same source.

Lindsey Liebig-Carter, chair of the groundwater authority’s board of directors, said in public comment that “this is the first we heard of this project at all.” She spoke on her own behalf because the board had not a chance to discuss the project.

“We have 10,000-acre-foot deficit that we are trying to overcome basin-wide, so a project like this raises alarm bells for those of us trying to preserve every drop, and especially for stakeholders outside the city limits,” Liebig-Carter said, asking that the city give a presentation on the project at a groundwater authority meeting.

Liebig-Carter raised concerns that the well would affect a water formation that “is being very heavily scrutinized by the (California) Department of Water Resources.”

Erias emphasized that the contract is for an “early exploratory project,” saying the information gained would be what the city provides the groundwater authority as it decides whether to move forward.

He acknowledged that it would have been “courteous” to inform the groundwater authority about the project and committed to better cooperation.

Farmer and Lozano supported tabling the item until the groundwater board had discussed it. Griffin said would delay City Council’s consideration until late August or early September. The full well replacement is expected to take two years from approving the exploratory contract.

City Council voted 4-0 to table the item.

Lozano asked that the city not reinstate City Council discretionary funds, considering it “bad policy.” 

Before budget cuts several years ago, each councilmember had $1,000 in funds that they could give to local community causes. Lozano said he nonetheless supports local community groups. Other councilmembers felt the use to be worthwhile, and City Council restored the $5,000 total by a 3-1 vote, with Lozano opposed.

In other business, City Council received the Galt Youth Commission’s annual report and witnessed the swearing-in of the commission’s newest members. It also heard the annual report of the Measure R Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee.