The City Council is expected to adopt the Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget Monday, including a series of late adjustments that restore public health programs, establish a $2 million reserve for a year-round homeless shelter and begin transitioning parking enforcement services in-house.
The proposed budget totals $383.4 million in General Fund appropriations and $1.41 billion across all city funds, including affiliated agencies and the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Despite balancing the budget, city officials warned that Pasadena continues to face long-term fiscal challenges driven by inflation, economic uncertainty and growing service demands.
“Balancing the budget has become increasingly challenging amid economic uncertainty, persistent inflation, and concerns about a potential slowdown,” according to the staff report. Officials noted that the spending plan relies in part on one-time solutions and that additional discussions regarding future budget priorities will be necessary in the coming months.
Among the most significant proposed changes is the restoration of funding for two Pasadena Outreach Response Team firefighter positions and motel vouchers for unhoused residents living on state property.
The budget would transfer funding previously allocated through the Housing Department to the Public Health Fund, providing $315,000 for the outreach team positions and $227,700 for motel vouchers.
The budget also restores funding for the Promotores community engagement program, which had faced the loss of grant funding. An additional $560,000 would allow the city to retain three positions and continue outreach efforts funded through contributions from Pasadena Water and Power, the Rent Stabilization Department and the Transportation Department.
Public health staffing would receive additional support through a $94,239 increase to convert the city’s Health Officer position from three-quarter time to full-time status.
Another $101,150 would preserve a full-time employee focused on infectious disease prevention and monitoring in long-term care facilities after federal pandemic-related funding expires.
The Transportation Department would receive $690,000 in new funding to begin shifting parking enforcement operations from a contracted service model to city employees. The first phase includes funding for 12 positions, including parking enforcement representatives and supervisors. City officials said the program is expected to become cost-neutral once fully implemented in Fiscal Year 2028. An additional $90,000 would fund body-worn cameras for parking enforcement personnel, with policy discussions scheduled for a future City Council committee meeting.
The Fire Department would add a new fire inspector position at a cost of $95,891 to help meet state-mandated inspection requirements for businesses and storage facilities.
The proposed budget also establishes a $2 million reserve to support development of a year-round homeless shelter, one of the City Council’s stated priorities during recent budget deliberations. The increase is partially offset by a $1.78 million reduction in scheduled debt service payments made possible through the use of excess reserve funds.
Collectively, the proposed adjustments would increase General Fund spending by approximately $1.2 million and add 17.25 full-time equivalent positions citywide.
The council is also scheduled to approve a transfer of $28.5 million from Pasadena Water and Power’s Light and Power Fund to the General Fund, representing 12% of estimated annual gross electric revenue. Officials are also recommending a technical adjustment to reduce the Fiscal Year 2026 transfer from $28.5 million to $28.23 million based on audited financial results.
If approved, the budget would fund 1,089.59 General Fund positions and 2,424.84 positions citywide. The spending plan follows weeks of public hearings and committee budget workshops that began after City Manager Matthew Hawkesworth released his recommended budget on May 4.
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