Site work and outdoor lighting for a playground / park / athletic field in Glendale, California. Completed plans call for outdoor lighting for a playground / park / athletic field; and for site work for a playground / park / athletic field.

The Glendale City Council approved a $1.2 billion citywide budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which initially started with a projected $34-million deficit, during a meeting on Tuesday, June 24. In a 4-1 vote, the council adopted the balanced budget with Councilmember Elen Asatryan voting against it, saying it focused on "cuts" instead of strategies for how the city can generate new revenue, restructure long-term financing and "responsibly pause projects." City Manager Roubik Golanian told the council that this year's budget study process proved to be the most challenging one he'd gone through in his position. The city faced significant financial headwinds this past year, projecting a general fund deficit of $34 million, driven primarily by lower-than-projected sales tax revenues and increased fixed costs, city staff said. The council approved the budget with a balanced general fund of $352.5 million, an increase of $26.8 million from 2024-25. To finesse a balanced fiscal sheet, the city avoided a deficit by transferring $4 million from its reserve fund balance, leaving the fund near a 34% reserve, just below its target of 35%. The overall budget also reflects a $12.3 million deferral in capital improvements projects for the FY 2025-26 fiscal year, a 37% reduction from the year prior. John Takhtalian, assistant city manager and former interim finance director, said when city staff first started having conversations regarding the 2025-26 budget and the anticipated deficit, they worked diligently to come up with one-time, short-term and midterm solutions to help close the gap. "Without new recurring revenue sources, reductions in future expenditures or financing [and] refinancing initiatives for current expenditures, the city will continue to face significant fiscal challenges in the years ahead, as illustrated in the general fund's five-year forecast," a staff report states. Glendale's general fund five-year forecast predicts budget deficits for future fiscal years, according to Takhtalian's presentation on Tuesday. To mitigate the impact of the deficit for FY 2025-26, staff came up with $20.6 million in budget balancing strategies, with $4.2 million in departmental reductions, a hiring freeze on 33 vacant positions, the deferral of capital improvement projects and fleet fund monies. "It's important to note here that the defunding of 33 vacant positions was a necessary act, because primarily the general fund pays for salaries, and absent us targeting vacant positions, we would have had no choice but to look at filled positions, and that, in fact, would have had a significant impact on our operations," Takhtalian said. In other alleviating efforts, the council approved a proposed increase to 10 citywide parking fees and reappropriated $9 million from capital improvement projects by canceling the Maryland Street and Alley Improvement/Artsakh project and deferring the Glorietta Field Lighting Improvement Project. "Despite these efforts, a $4 million shortfall remained and was ultimately resolved through a transfer from the city's general fund reserves, bringing the General Fund Budget to $352.5 million," the city stated in a news release. "This budget allows Glendale to maintain a balanced budget while preserving essential services." The "primary drivers" of the deficit were a decrease in revenues from sales tax, utility users tax, building and planning permit fees and landfill fees. The city did, however, see a $1.2-million increase in property tax revenue. Also contributing to the "stress of the budget," Takhtalian said, was an increase in costs relating to medical insurance premiums, police department overtime and maintenance and operations, salary adjustments, past information and technology projects, the fleet fund and building and maintenance fund and a reduction in estimated savings from projected position vacancies. Based on staff recommendations, the council approved the adoption of Glendale Water and Power's (GWP) Public Benefit Programs Plan and the Low Carbon Fuel Standards Programs Plan for $9.3 million, which includes 24 programs to be implemented in FY 2025-26. Included in the city's 2025-26 budget is the creation of new job classifications in GWP's water and electric sectors: a cross connection control technician, cross connection control specialist, an additional electric line mechanic crew, electric line mechanic supervisor and electric line mechanics. Funds for these positions will come out of GWP's budget and not the city's general fund, according to Takhtalian. "Those we have not had previously, however, state legislation over the last year has required us to essentially create those two new titles and hire people in those positions to stay compliant with the water board," Takhtalian said. "There is quite a bit of work that needs to get done, far more than what our existing crews can handle. By adopting this, essentially, what we'll be doing is providing quicker service to our residents who have had to wait for pretty significant lead times in order to get services connected." The final piece of Glendale's FY 2025-26 budget, Takhtalian said, was the retitling of information and technology positions. Asatryan said proposed cuts to certain areas of the budget were made based on "unreliable forecasting." "I'm still ready to be here every day for the next several weeks to do the hard work that this moment requires, but I can't in good conscious support a budget that's built on flawed assumptions, that contradicts our city's priorities, stated values, that cuts the very tools our staff need to succeed, and that continues to overlook the most vulnerable in our community," Asatryan said. Mayor Ara Najarian said the city's revenues were hit hard and, unfortunately, there will be more appropriations. Question Deadline 10/10/2025 If any Bidder contemplating submitting a Bid is in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the Bidding Documents, or who finds discrepancies, errors or omissions therein or who finds variances in any of the Bidding Documents with applicable law, such Bidder shall at once submit a written request for an interpretation or correction thereof to the City's representative identified in the Notice Inviting Bids, or other designated individual Contractor shall furnish labor, materials, equipment, services, and specialized skills to perform work involved in the Project. The Work in the Bid is defined in the Plans and Specifications and will generally include the materials needed and steps for the installation of eight (8) factory-wired poletop luminaire assembly, thirty-four (34) factory-aimed and assembled luminaires, and one (1) galvanized steep pole with base plate at Glorietta Park Field. "It's going to be some tough years ahead. I don't see us expanding programs. I see us cutting back on other areas," Najarian said. "It's the best situation that we could have come up with at this point to save the city from any further difficulties." Councilmember Dan Brotman said the city was not cutting staffing, but increasing it, specifically in the Police Department. "What we've managed to do here is squeeze a lot of little projects and programs and find cheaper ways to do things and preserve the employees so that we can maintain the same level of quality services. We can't necessarily grow them, but we can maintain them," Brotman said. In reference to comments made by Asatryan, Brotman said he too had a list of projects and initiatives he wants the city to fund, but the revenues aren't there. "I think that we have a prudent and responsible budget. If magically, we can come up with some windfall set of revenues in this coming fiscal year, we can go back and ask for additional appropriations, but at this point, we have to plan based on our best guess, erring on the side of being conservative ... as to what our revenues are going to be over the coming year," he said. Fax Bidder's Questions to Public Works Facilities Department Attention: Arthur Asaturyan, Senior Project Manager E-mail: aasaturyan@glendaleca.gov