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The city of Livermore ended fiscal year 2025-26 with a general fund operating surplus of about $5.5 million, the majority of which the City Council will consider allocating to city reserves.
The council is set to vote on the allocation, plus other budget adjustments for the past and current fiscal year, at its Monday meeting.
The surplus reported in the city’s unaudited actuals signals a turn-around from its revised budget, which predicted a general fund operating deficit of about $386,000, according to the 2025-26 year-end budget report, which covers July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
Overall, the city ended fiscal year 2025-26 with an unaudited general fund balance of about $60.6 million, including about $46.4 million in operating reserves, according to the report.
An independent auditor will review the city’s finances in an annual comprehensive financial report, which city staff expect by Dec. 31, the report states. Historically, ending fund balances have not materially changed, but any difference would be identified to the City Council in a presentation of the annual comprehensive financial report.
During fiscal year 2025-26, the city received about $152.8 million in general fund operating revenue, plus about $500,000 in transfers in, according to the report. Over the same period, the city’s total operating expenditures was about $139.2 million, plus about $8.6 million in transfers out.
That revenue is about 3.2% lower than the city had been projecting, and general fund operating expenditures came in about 6.1% lower.
Staff has proposed the $5.5 million be allocated to several reserve funds, including about $1.4 million to carry forward contract encumbrances; about $2.6 million to the city’s Capital Improvement Program reserves; $1 million to its Information technology reserves; and about $508,700 for future operating reserve requirements.
About $660,200 in excess member contributions made to the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department will be reallocated toward insurance premium payments and traffic technologies.
City staff is also asking the council to authorize about $5.2 million in supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2025-26 expenditures that came in over budget. That includes about $4.7 million for the city’s new Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) Fund, which will be reimbursed by the OPEB Trust, the staff report states.
City staff also recommend authorizing $19,125 in supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2026-27 and increasing the County Measure D revenue budgets by $247,000 for fiscal year 2025-26 and $250,000 for fiscal year 2026-27.
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Monday (Nov. 9). The agenda is available here.
In other business
*Livermore Valley Arts CEO Chris Carter will present an annual update on the organization.
*Ava Community Energy CEO Howard Chang will present the public, not-for-profit electricity provider’s impact report and information about local development programs.
*The council will approve an ordinance aimed at making it easier to amend its Conflict of Interest Code, which must be reviewed biennially.
The ordinance would allow the council to amend the list of positions that “make or participate in making governmental decisions that may foreseeably have a material effect on financial interests” by resolution instead of through ordinance amendments, which require two official readings and a 30-day waiting period.
The ordinance approval is listed on the council’s consent calendar, typically reserved for bulk approval of items deemed non-controversial.
If approved, the ordinance would go into effect Dec. 8.
