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Item # 9
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
January 20, 2026
TOPIC: Fiscal Year 2024-25 General Fund Results
AGENDA TITLE
Fiscal Year 2024-25 General Fund Results
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive and file this informational report.
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
DISCUSSION
The City's independent auditors have completed their fieldwork for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2025, and the City issued its audited financial statements on December 12,
2025. The January 20, 2026 agenda also includes a separate informational report
detailing the audited financial statements and related findings.
This report provides final information on General Fund performance for FY 2024-25. The
spendable General Fund balance in excess of the 18% Reserve requirement is $11.7
million, which is available for one-time spending. Staff recommends considering the $11.7
million General Fund balance during the FY 2026-27 annual budget process, beginning
with "Early Direction" from the City Council scheduled for March 17, 2026. This approach
allows competing needs to be considered together during budget development.
Potential uses of the one-time funding may include, but are not limited to:
• An additional contribution to the Section 115 Trust to address future employee
pension cost increases
• A contribution to the General Liability Fund balance to support future payment of
claims
• One-time construction projects to address immediate safety needs
FY24-25 General Fund Results
General Fund revenues exceeded budgeted estimates by $2.3 million at year-end, after
adjusting for fair market value changes and other year-end accounting entries,
representing an increase of approximately 0.6 percent over revised estimates.
Fiscal Year 2024-25 General Fund Results
January 20, 2026
Page 2
Expenditure savings totaled $8 million, resulting in a $10.3 million increase in the
Spendable General Fund Balance. These favorable variances resulted in an estimated
spendable General Fund balance of $11.7 million at June 30, 2026, in excess of the
General Fund Reserve requirement of $74.5 million (18% of annual recurring revenue).
While revenues performed above conservative estimates and departments realized
expenditure savings, the following items represent the most significant contributors to the
$10.3 million increase in the spendable balance.
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• Cannabis tax revenues exceeded revised estimates by $2.0 million, primarily due
to one-time collections from structured repayment plans for unpaid taxes. These
revenues are one-time in nature and should not be considered indicative of future
growth.
• Revenues from charges for service exceeded revised estimates by $1.2 million
primarily driven by Paramedic Service Charge revenue, which continued to benefit
from increased reimbursements for Medicare and Medi-Cal transports.
• Utility Users Tax revenues exceeded revised estimates by $0.5 million, primarily
due to higher utility rates throughout the year and improved collections on
delinquent water accounts.
• Sales tax (Measure X) revenue totaled $82.6 million, which was $0.2 million below
the revised budget estimate. During the year, the Measure X budget estimate was
adjusted downward by $2.8 million, resulting in a revised budget of $82.8 million.
• Sales tax (Bradley -Burns) revenue totaled $58.5 million, which was $0.5 million
below the revised budget estimate. During the year, the Bradley -Burns budget
estimate was adjusted downward by $2.6 million, resulting in a revised budget of
$59.0 million.
• Business tax revenue totaled $17.7 million, which was $0.3 million below the
revised budget estimate. While the business tax revenue estimate was increased
by $1.8 million during the year, year-end collections fell modestly short of the
revised projection.
• Other General Fund revenues were $0.4 million below budget, primarily due to
the recent transition of the Engineering Services Fund to the General Fund, as
revenue estimates for charges for these services were lower than anticipated.
Overall, General Fund Revenue increased by 0.04% in comparison to FY23-24. Current
estimates suggest an expected 0.76% increase for FY25-26.
Expenditures
• General Fund expenditure savings totaled $8.0 million and contributed to the
increase in the City's Spendable Fund Balance. The savings was largely due to
position vacancies. The Police Department and Public Works Agency accounted
for $4.7 million in savings, while the remaining $3.3 million was distributed across
other departments.
Fiscal Year 2024-25 General Fund Results
January 20, 2026
Page 3
The revised General Fund compensation budget for FY 2024-25 totaled $212 million after
adjustments made throughout the fiscal year. Actual spending of $204 million resulted in
vacancy savings of approximately $8.0 million, or 3.8%.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
There is no environmental impact associated with this action.
FISCAL IMPACT
The table below provides an updated summary of the General Fund budget for Fiscal
Year 2025-26, incorporating the results from Fiscal Year 2024-25.
FY2025-26 General Fund Summary
FY26-26 1st Quarter
Budget Update
FY24-25 Year -End
Results
Updated
Estimates
Estimated Beginning Balance at July 1. 2025
87,381.099
10,269.705
97_650.804
Revenue Estimate
413,790.950
-
413.790.950
Appropriated Spending
(424.230;150)
-
(424.230.150)
FY25-26 Contribution to Pension Stabilization
Trust
(1.000,000)
-
(1;000;000)
Estimated Ending Balance at June 30. 2026
75,941.899
10.269.705
86.211.604
Less: 18% Reserve'
74.482.371
-
74.482.371
Estimated Spendable Balance
1.459.528
10,269.705
1 1.729.233
'The City's 18% reserve policy applies to annual recurring revenue only.
Submitted By: Alexander Trinidad, Executive Director of Finance and Management
Services Agency
Approved By: Alvaro Nunez, City Manager