For the first time in city history, the Morgan Hill City Council approved a two-year operating budget and six-year Capital Improvement Program.
The budget for fiscal years 2016-17 ($126.2 million) and 2017-18 ($126.1 million) was approved unanimously by the council at the June 15 meeting. The CIP for 2016-22—which identifies significant long-term infrastructure, parks and public property improvements—totals about $107.4 million.
The general fund budget for 2016-17—which is funded by sales, property and hotel tax revenues and pays for basic services such as public safety and streets—is about $37.3 million, and about $38.7 million for 2017-18. Public safety accounts for about 75 percent of these expenses.
Earlier this year, the council voted to begin forming city budgets on a biennial basis in order to cut the workload for city staff and take advantage of precise five-year forecasts that City Hall formulates on an annual basis anyway.
Adoption of the budget June 15 occurred while several major studies are underway, including a public safety master plan; an Economic Development Blueprint; a development services study; the Parks, Recreation and Trails master plan; the water master plan; an update to the wastewater master plan; and a long-term solution to the administration of the city’s affordable housing program.
“As a result, it is envisioned that service enhancement budget amendments may be necessary in the months following budget adoption,” reads a city staff report. “This could include, but not be limited to, additional capital projects, organizational structure changes and enhanced services that advance the council’s and community’s quality of life priorities.”
That also leaves funding for some initiatives up in the air, such as the improvement of Villa Mira Monte and the Hiram Morgan Hill House, which are located on Monterey Road just north of downtown. For several years, the Morgan Hill Historical Society, which maintains the 2.5-acre site and organizes educational and other community-oriented events there, has sought city funding to help pay for improvements that could cost up to $4 million.
But because the Parks, Recreation and Trails master plan won’t be completed until later this summer, the society won’t know until at least August if they will get a contribution from the city, according to MHHS President Kathy Sullivan.
Highlights and novelties in the latest adopted budget and CIP, which haven’t appeared in previous city budgets, include:
• $6 million over five years in the CIP for agricultural preservation;
• Increase general fund investment for street improvements by $250,000 annually for the next three years;
• Hiring a full-time public safety dispatcher for $158,000;
• $565,000 over two years for capital improvements in the city’s information infrastructure;
• Construction of three downtown parks for about $4 million.
