Yorba Linda City Council makes decisions on extra tax, fee revenue, reviews investment portfolio

 

Each year-end the Yorba Linda City Council has the pleasant task of deciding what to do with the extra revenue that was collected from taxes and fees during the previous fiscal year – the amount of cash income that exceeded the year's expenditures.

The additional revenue generated by the end of the fiscal year on June 30 was $7.6 million – well above the $326,578 projected when the budget was adopted – according to the closing-the-books report presented to councilmembers earlier this month.

Council's first priority is to keep city reserves at 50% of a year's general fund expenses, a longtime policy adopted by a past council and continued through the years by succeeding councils.

The reserve balance at the beginning of the current fiscal year on July 1 was $29.6 million, or about 70.1% of anticipated expenditures by June 30, 2023, according to an eight-page report from the city's finance director, Dianna Honeywell.

And after the spend-down of some of the funds approved by the council this month, the city's reserve balance will stand at about 56.4% of the current year's expected expenses, she said.

A large portion of the extra cash collected from tax- and fee-payers during the past year will go toward paying down the city's unfunded liability for employee pensions and placing extra cash into a trust account to reduce the unfunded liability for retired employees medical costs.

The city's aim for the past six fiscal years has been to amortize the pension liability over a 20-year period instead the standard 30 years. This year's extra payment is $366,962, in addition to the regular payment of $1.9 million to the state's Public Employees Retirement System.

Payment to the trust account for retiree medical expenses will be $511,600. That brings the extra payments to a bit more than $2 million since 2016. The extra pension fund payments now total some $2.2 million.

Also, $5 million is set aside for future projects, including right-of-way and construction related to a Yorba Linda Boulevard and Savi Ranch project, street pavement, Yorba Linda Boulevard widening in Imperial Highway area and $500,000 for library maintenance and improvements.

The past year surplus was attributed to $5.6 million fewer expenses than anticipated and better-than-expected sales tax, property transfer tax, recreation and building fees income.

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Council members this month also reviewed a 49-page report on the city's investment portfolio under the direction of PFM Asset Management, a national firm specializing in work with public agencies and non-profit institutions.

The company manages about $46.8 million for the city, with major allocations in U.S. Treasury (44.1%) and corporate (22.4%) assets.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, the portfolio market value dropped about $2.8 million, while earning $585,878 in interest. Since inception in 2017, total dollar return has been $2.55 million.

Yorba Linda, North Orange County election turnout, results, including council, school, water board

 

Yorba Linda not only topped voter turnout in the North County cities served by this newspaper in the midterm election, but the city's voters gave Gavin Newsom opponent Brian Dahle by far the highest percentage of the vote for governor.

And Yorba Linda's voters supported every candidate endorsed by Orange County's official Republican Party organization – from state posts to director slots on the local water board.

Turnout for Yorba Linda's 47,926 registered voters was 64%, higher than the county's 54.7% and above Brea's 57.4% of 29,432; Buena Park's 44.5% of 43,867; La Habra's 46.6% of 33,552; La Palma's 55.1% of 9,683; Fullerton's 50.9% of 77,914; and Placentia's 56.2% of 30,844.

Three cities gave majorities to Dahle in the governor's contest: Yorba Linda 66.1%, Brea 55.6% and Placentia 54.6%. The others went for Newsom: Buena Park 52.1%, La Palma 51.7%, Fullerton 51.4% and La Habra just over 50%.

Yorba Linda had the highest percentage of vote center versus mail-in votes. Of the 64% city turnout, 12% was cast at centers and 52% by mail. Percentages for center and mail votes in other cities: Brea 8.9% and 48.5%, Buena Park 7.7% and 36.8%, La Habra 8.6% and 38%, La Palma 9.4% and 45.7%, Fullerton 8.5% and 42.4% and Placentia 10.1% and 46%.

And Yorba Linda was the only city among the seven where winners followed the Republican Party endorsements for every position, including a hotly contested race for trustee in Area 5 in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

Three-term incumbent Carrie Buck won the race over GOP-endorsed challenger Richard Ingle, 54% to 46%, but Ingle won the area's Yorba Linda vote, while Buck won the area's Placentia and Anaheim vote.

GOP-endorsed Todd Frazer beat 33-year incumbent Karin Freeman and fellow challenger Steve Slawson in the equally contentious Area 4 contest by winning big in the area's Yorba Linda portion, while Freeman won by smaller margins in the area's Placentia and Anaheim portions.

As usual, the GOP-endorsed candidates won the two Yorba Linda City Council seats, with Carlos Rodriguez placing first for his second term and Janice Lin second, replacing Peggy Huang. Community college trustee Ryan Bent, a late entry in the contest, ran a close third.

Three GOP-endorsed candidates defeated incumbent Brooke Jones and two others in the race for three Yorba Linda Water District director slots. Phil Hawkins begins a fourth term and former two-term councilman Tom Lindsey his first elected term after his appointment last year.

Back on the board is Brett Barbre, a director for two years before his election in 2000 to the county Municipal Water District. He served as the Yorba Linda district's general manager for 20 months before resigning earlier this year with a net $194,975 payout.

The district has 47,911 voters in Yorba Linda, 5,016 in Placentia, 567 in Anaheim and 166 in Brea. Hawkins, Lindsey and Barbre won in all four cities.