Politics & Government
Novato Council Approves 'Status Quo' Budget
The city's fiscal year starts on Monday.
The Novato City Council on Tuesday approved a “status quo” budget for the next fiscal year.
The $54.4 million budget includes no cuts. It was approved less than a week before the 2013/2014 fiscal year starts on Monday.
The budget was prepared by the city manager's office amid a fiscal sustainability effort. It features no major changes from the city's 2012/2013 budget.
Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A staff report accompanying the budget shows some positive signs. It projects an increase of over 1 percent in revenues in the upcoming fiscal year to $28.9 million, a sign the staff believes shows the city is gradually emerging from the longterm economic downturn.
Sales taxes, however, are not keeping with the pace they're growing in neighboring cities, the staff report concludes.
Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The budget includes $14.2 million for capital improvements, of which about $9.3 million comes from unspent funds for already-approved projects.
Capital improvements in the next year include completing construction of new city office buildings, Phase 1 of improvements to Downtown Depot's parking, restarting the Novato Boulevard widening, and continued street-paving with some intersection and pedestrian improvements.
