Seaside council accepts midyear financial report; budget amendments approved

The Seaside City Council voted to accept the fiscal-year midyear financial report and approved staff-recommended budget amendments at its March 19 meeting.

Finance director Jessica Riley presented results through the second quarter (ending December 2025), reporting projected general-fund revenue of about $49.2 million—roughly $929,000 above budget—and noting that expenditures are tracking below midyear benchmarks. Riley said personnel and pension costs remain the primary long-term pressure and that staff recommends budget amendments totaling $694,000, primarily for capital project adjustments and personnel-related items.

Riley explained council policy allocations applied at midyear: 20% of available funds toward the pension trust and 30% to streets, leaving an available balance of approximately $576,000 after adjustments. She also outlined a longer-term unfunded actuarial pension liability (UAL) of about $60 million, with annual payments rising from roughly $5 million this year to a projected peak of $8 million by 2032.

Council members sought clarifications on frozen positions, the impact of rising gas prices on tourism-related revenues, and trade-offs between near-term investments (street maintenance, site demolition for Campus Town Phase 2) and long-term reserve sustainability. City manager and finance staff recommended receiving and filing the midyear snapshot and addressing larger trade-offs during the full budget process in May–June.

The council unanimously approved the midyear report, the $694,000 in amendments, and the proposed refinement to the street-funding policy. Staff will roll the midyear findings into the FY 2026–27 budget process and return with study sessions and subsequent adoption steps.

Detail to watch: staff estimates Campus Town Phase 2 site demolition at over $6 million and flagged constrained unassigned fund balance for competing capital needs.