Council approves adjustments to current fiscal year budget Updated housing element approved to be submitted for review by the state
The Marysville City Council unanimously approved adjustments to the 2020/2021 fiscal year budget, which increase general fund revenue by $1,561,000 and increase expenditures by $1,371,285.
The adjustments were proposed after changes in fiscal projections due to one-time payments, increased costs for certain expenditures and conservative revenue projections during the budget process.
Sales tax revenue ($527,613) made up the largest portion of increase to general fund revenue.
“It’s really been the online sales that’s happened during this pandemic that has actually brought on more of the sales tax,” Finance Director Jennifer Styczynski told the council during Tuesday’s meeting.
Tax revenue from cannabis sales ($380,000) made up the second largest portion added to general fund revenue.
Styczynski said some of the items in the added expenses column, such as $118,194 added to the workers compensation fund, had to be done without control from the city. An audit of the city’s workers compensation fund found a small shortage and the city was billed the $118,194.
“In general, we’re looking at around an overall increase in our general fund of about $180,000 total between the extra revenues coming in and then the expenditures that we’re proposing that are coming out,” Styczynski said.
The approximately $180,000 goes back into the general fund and will be allocated during the upcoming budget process, according to Styczynski.
Mayor Chris Branscum asked if lessons could be learned from the long list of expenses that were added to the budget during the fiscal year.
“Is there a caution light here in terms of future budgeting? Because we significantly underestimated the expenses line and that seems to be something we should have a better grip on,” Branscum said.
Styczynski said everything in the expenses column of adjustments was something approved by the city council or was an overage payment that was out of the city’s control.
“We didn’t put items in here to bring in any extra special projects,” Styczynski said. “We basically are just taking what we know happened for sure of expenses, or what we know we can project, that are going to happen to offset it.”
In other business:
– The city council unanimously approved submitting an updated draft housing element to the state to begin the review process. The city is required to update its housing element every eight years and the current element expires in 2021.
The proposed housing element will last from 2021-2029. In an effort to increase affordable housing statewide, regions are allocated a certain number of units to develop in an eight-year period. Marysville’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is 167 units in three income targets including lower income, moderate income and above moderate income.
“There’s just generally a need for housing at various income levels and that especially has to do with displacement in the region from fires,” said
Nicole West with Placeworks Consulting. “…There’s low vacancy rates in Marysville, which also indicates a need for more housing and more choice of housing is there.”
The draft housing element is the only part of the city’s general plan that has to be reviewed by the state. It includes an analysis of existing and projected housing needs, inventory of available sites for housing, analysis of potential constraints on housing, fair housing analysis, an evaluation of the previous housing element, and goals, policies and implementation of programs.
“The good news is that although Marysville has limited opportunities for growth there are adequate remaining vacant sites within the city to accommodate the RHNA,” said Kathy Pease with Management Advisory Services.
After it is reviewed by the state, the housing element will come back to the planning commission and then city council for adoption. The plan is for the housing element to be adopted by the city council in July, according to Pease.