Wasco City council reviews proposed FY27 budget and $38 million pipeline of capital projects

Wasco City staff presented a detailed proposed budget and capital improvement program at the council meeting, telling elected officials the CIP lists roughly $38 million in projects that would be significant to the city’s capital plan if all are advanced in fiscal year 2027. Tracy, the staff presenter, told the council she organized the CIP by department and funding source to show where money would come from and how multi‑year projects would stretch through FY32.

Why it matters: the proposed CIP includes a mix of projects that are partially underway and others that are only in planning. Several large projects — notably a proposed police station and water‑well development — account for a large share of the FY27 totals and will require additional funding or phased schedules if grants and other sources do not materialize.

Tracy said the city grouped CIP items into projects already more than 20% complete (ongoing projects) and projects with minimal expenditure to date. Staff estimated $6.9 million would be required in FY27 to continue work on projects already underway and about $38 million in new or continuing projects if the council chose to proceed. “The big ones, of course, being the police station, and the development of the water wells,” Tracy said during her presentation.

Council and staff emphasized that time and funding constraints drive prioritization. As staff explained, many street and infrastructure projects depend on grants that carry design and approval timelines — for example, plans reviewed by agencies such as Caltrans can add 12–18 months before construction allocations are available. Councilmembers asked for a concise status update for street projects showing percent complete and the specific outstanding items or approvals so they can better judge sequencing and staffing needs.

Staff also described a pattern used in prior years: adding projects to the CIP ahead of secured funding so that grant applications are stronger and funding agencies treat items as ‘shelf‑ready.’ Staff warned that some new CIP items were added to internal tracking this year but did not appear on the publicly posted CIP booklet as of June, and they will correct indexing and highlight new project numbers.

Budget staff walked the council through enterprise funds (water, wastewater, sanitation) and how capital spending affects year‑to‑year net positions. They cautioned that heavy CIP spending in a single year can create a paper deficit on a revenue-minus-expenses basis but noted the city holds enterprise reserves intended to fund capital work. Staff said they have used those reserves deliberately in prior years to smooth rate impacts and to fund large capital needs without immediate full rate increases.

What happens next: staff will return with corrected calculations, clarified project numbering, and updated revenue projections before the council’s scheduled June 2 meeting, when the council is targeting formal budget adoption.