Seaside Sanitation District adopts $5.6M FY 2026–27 budget with $3.2M in new capital projects

The Seaside County Sanitation District board unanimously adopted the district’s proposed fiscal year 2026–27 operating and capital budget at its May 19 special meeting.

Jesse Riley, the city of Seaside finance director and district finance manager, presented the budget and said projected revenue for FY 2026–27 is $2.9 million, primarily from user fees (about $2.1 million, or 72% of revenue) and property tax forecast at about $710,000. Riley proposed operating expenditures of $2.4 million to support 6.2 full-time-equivalent positions in maintenance, engineering and administrative overhead.

Riley said proposed new capital expenditures for FY27 total $3.2 million and highlighted three projects: a sewer pipe replacement project focused on the Noa Buena and Broadway area, manhole improvement projects budgeted at $1 million (inspection and upgrades, including work in Sand City), and a Delray Park sewer upgrade to reroute existing mains to a maintenance area; staff also flagged an upcoming June agenda item for a $3 million project on Noa Buena and Broadway.

With $2.9 million in revenue supporting total expenditures and rolling capital, Riley said the district projects a $2.6 million decrease in fund balance but retains an unrestricted fund balance of about $4.7 million—roughly two times the proposed annual operating expenditures. Staff recommended adoption; a board member moved, another seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Why it matters: The budget funds ongoing maintenance and several capital projects that the district says will address aging lift stations and sewer infrastructure. The planned capital work and fund-balance changes will shape the district’s service and rate discussions going forward.

What’s next: Staff intends to bring a related capital project item to the June meeting; the board will monitor implementation and any emergency expenditures.