According to some, the city of Cypress remains in perhaps the best fiscal position of any of Orange County’s cities, and the budget adopted for 2021-22 this week reflects that growing strength.
And, according to Matt Burton, the city’s Director of Finance and Administration, the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress is a “once in a generation windfall” that will further allow the Council to further invest in the city’s infrastructure.
Burton told the Council this week that the city will apparently receive more than $11 million as part of the plan, approximately $2 million more than previously expected.
“You know this Act (of Congress) is a once in a generation windfall for Cypress,” said Burton, and “we’re in a position to wait and build a multi-year spending plan for these allocations.”
The $1.9 trillion stimulus plan was passed by Congress in March , providing a supplement to American workers, cities and towns to speed the economic recovery.
While the spending parameters (what the city can spend the money on) have not been finalized, Burton said the city can afford to wait it out and develop a plan to invest the money “to maximize long-term benefits to the community.”
Burton did note that all funds from the American Rescue Plan have to be spent by 2024.
Also, the Council approved its current fiscal year budget of $41.7 million, which includes a capital improvements plan of $4.2 million.
Burton said the current budget does not include any of the expected $11 million federal windfall, though other monies from earlier Congressional pandemic funding have been budgeted and spent according to the guidelines connected to them.
While Burton said it was too early to tell, he said the current budget could show a very slim deficit by the end of next year ($100,000), but he said there is a good chance the city’s annual revenue will more than exceed current expectations.
Nevertheless, he said the city is well prepared for the tiny shortfall should it occur.
Burton also presented updates on several other major funds managed by the city, including parks and recreation, among others, saying while the pandemic did have a negative effect on the city, it was “not nearly as severe” as expected.
He concluded his presentation showing long term charts and graphs that illustrated the city’s strong reserves and upward trends, though he said challenges do remain.
“Pensions are still our biggest challenge,” said Burton, “and they haven’t gone away.” He said Cypress will be dealing with CalPERS, the state’s pension investment agency, “for the foreseeable future.”
Burton said while things are very positive and headed in the right direction, Cypress has not totally recaptured the grandeur of revenue growth seen a few years ago.
“We are not back to where we were a few years ago,” he noted.
Following his presentation, several council members, including the mayor, thanked Burton for his financial leadership, as they also paid tribute to Burton’s staff discipline and that of earlier councils that has left the city in a strong financial position.
Because of this, said council member Anne Hertz, Cypress “is in one of the strongest fiscal positions in Orange County.”
In addition to approving the budget, the Council also passed a seven-year capital improvement investment plan of approximately $84 million, which includes the proposed expenditure of nearly $10 million in the next fiscal year alone.
Public Works Director Doug Dancs explained an overview of the detailed plan to the council that includes a vast array of infrastructure investments over the next seven years.
By constantly reinvesting in infrastructure, said Dancs, the city remains such an appealing place to live and work.
Dancs said the infrastructure improvements include such things as parks, recreation, streets and roads, public facilities, traffic improvements, sewer system enhancements, parkways and medians, storm drains, etc.
More detailed financials and investment plans are available for viewing on the city’s web site, they said.
Mayor Jon Peat announced that the council is working with staff to “reopen the city” as quickly as safely possible following the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lifting of restrictions June 15.
Peat was also excited to announce that the city’s popular “Summer Concerts on the Green” would begin June 25, near the tennis courts at the Cypress Civic center, where they are traditionally held, complete with food trucks and a variety of other attractions.
According to the city’s website, the classic rock group “The Answer” will perform June 25 at the first of the summer concerts.
Also this week, citizens who live near the Christine P. Swain Elementary School in Cypress complained bitterly during the council’s open forum that proposed changes by the Cypress School District will decimate their home values.
Bob Youngsma, and another neighbor, asked the council to step into the fray and protect their neighborhood.
He said residents who live around Swain Elementary “are very upset with the city council and the (Cypress) School district. What they are doing is unacceptable,” he said.
The school district has embarked on a modernization program that, with other major changes, aims to turn Slain into a school bus maintenance facility, which Youngsma said will diminish their property value.
“You’ve got to get into this game,” he told the council. “This is going to get nasty.”
Youngsma said the property on which the school is located is permitted for a school site, “not a 30,000 square foot commercial building.”
Nevertheless, while City manager Peter Grant and city attorney Fred Galante briefly addressed the issue, Galante said the state of California grants wide latitude to school districts in such matters, though they agreed to look into it further.
Another caller, Anthony Folse, took council member Paulo Morales to task for his comments at a recent meeting rejecting the Pride flag in Cypress. “Last meeting, you said the LGTBQ community was already welcome in Cypress, how do you show we are welcome,” he asked? How are you offering help to those of us who are suffering? Comparing the community to Black Lives Matters was “beyond disrespectful,” he said. He thanked council member Frances Marquez for trying to have the month declared Pride Month and told Morales he should “apologize to the LGBTQ community.”
In other action, the council;
- Thanked Marquez for requesting vaccination clinics in Cypress, saying three had already been held and another is scheduled for July 6 at the Los Alamitos Race Course. No appointments necessary.
- Accepted the Arterial Rehabilitation, Project 258, in the amount of $735,697.86 and approved the final payment of $36,784.89 to All American Asphalt.
- Accepted the Citywide Park Enhancements, Project 247, in the amount of $224,189.77 and approved the final payment of $11,209.49 to Speedy Fix, Inc.
- Accepted the Residential Street Resurfacing Improvements, Project 286, in the amount of $114,202.86 and approve the final payment of $5,710.14 to All American Asphalt.