The city budget in plain terms
On this page (5 sections)
The city's fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, so "FY2026" means July 2025 to June 2026. The General Fund pays for everyday services like police, parks and planning.
Key takeaways
- FY2026 General Fund: $5,744,157 in, $5,702,810 out, +$41,347 Verified1.
- Police is about 41% of spending. Sales and property taxes bring in the most Verified1Calculated1.
- FY2025 audit: the balance fell from $8.8 million to $6.0 million after the city paid off CalPERS pension debt Verified2.
- Status: approved as "preliminary" Jul 16, 2025; we found no final adoption vote Verified3.
The General Fund, FY2026 and FY2027
Lessons: Art. XIII B: the spending limitArt. XIII A: property tax (Prop. 13)
Money in, money out, and the balanceTwo-year budget, Exhibit A
| Fiscal year | Money in | Money out | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 (Jul 2025–Jun 2026) | $5,744,157 | $5,702,810 | +$41,347 |
| FY2027 (Jul 2026–Jun 2027) | $5,903,287 | $5,862,932 | +$40,355 |
Source: two-year budget, Exhibit A, PDF page 7 Verified1. Projected FY2026 revenue is 7.4% below the FY2025 budget of $6,200,653 Calculated1.
The Jul 16, 2025 minutes say the small surpluses depended on staff furloughs, on skipping a 3% cost-of-living raise planned for Jul 1, 2025, and on pausing pension catch-up (UAL) payments, which saves $224,178 a year. They put the General Fund reserve at about $4.3 million after setting aside about $1.2 million for E Street. Minus the Streets fund deficit of $1,420,000, that left $2,880,000, or 50.5% of FY2026 spending Verified3.
Where General Fund money comes from (FY2026)Exhibit D, budgeted revenue
| Source | FY2026 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sales and use tax (state formula) | $1,598,567 | 28% |
| Property taxes | $1,579,128 | 27% |
| Local sales tax | $949,662 | 17% |
| Vehicle license fee in-lieu | $649,089 | 11% |
| Hotel tax (transient occupancy) | $465,945 | 8% |
| Franchise fees | $295,166 | 5% |
| Licenses and fees | $167,900 | 3% |
| Interest, fines, rent | $38,700 | 1% |
| Total | $5,744,157 | 100% |
Source: two-year budget, Exhibit D, PDF page 11 Verified1. We calculated the shares and the "interest, fines, rent" line ($20,000 + $11,000 + $7,700) Calculated1.
Where General Fund money goes, by departmentFY2026 and FY2027 budgets
| Department | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Police | $2,330,295 | $2,415,206 |
| Fire district contribution | $867,000 | $867,000 |
| Building and grounds | $430,640 | $441,493 |
| Finance | $421,636 | $429,944 |
| City Council | $307,590 | $317,951 |
| Planning | $246,804 | $254,326 |
| Parks | $222,040 | $232,158 |
| Building | $182,418 | $189,092 |
| Public works | $154,467 | $159,092 |
| City administrator | $144,217 | $149,514 |
| Recreation | $123,061 | $126,460 |
| City clerk | $120,054 | $123,767 |
| Pools | $91,805 | $95,119 |
| Storm drain | $60,783 | $61,810 |
| Total | $5,702,810 | $5,862,932 |
Source: two-year budget, department pages (PDF pages 13 to 26) Verified1. The departments add up exactly to the Exhibit A totals Calculated1.
Water, sewer and the whole city
Lessons: Art. XIII D §6(b): fee money pays for that serviceWilliams: fees and rates
Other funds, FY2026Water and sewer are paid by utility bills, not the General Fund
| Fund | Money in | Money out |
|---|---|---|
| All city funds, FY2026 | $11,543,915 | $11,553,240 |
| All city funds, FY2027 | $11,850,505 | $11,714,652 |
| Water, FY2026 | $1,225,441 | $1,318,378 |
| Sewer, FY2026 | $3,020,413 | $2,849,417 |
Source: two-year budget, Exhibit A Verified1. The Jul 16, 2025 minutes projected water deficits of $92,937 (FY2026) and $156,476 (FY2027). They projected sewer surpluses of $170,996 and $163,374, helped by about $600,000 a year for treating Arbuckle's wastewater Verified3. The water and sewer rate increases are on the fees tracker.
What actually happened: the FY2025 audit
Lessons: The Public Records ActCal. Const. Art. I §3
Audited results for the year ended June 30, 2025In the Sep 16, 2026 agenda packet
| General Fund, FY2025 | Final budget | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6,244,028 | $6,128,316 |
| Spending | $8,145,035 | $8,410,221 |
The fund balance went from $8,816,153 to $6,035,850, a drop of $2,780,303. Spending rose $3,327,744 over FY2024, mostly because of the payments that paid off the city's unfunded CalPERS pension liability. The General Fund's share was $2,817,856 (PDF page 161; staff report, PDF page 149) Verified2. The auditor's report is dated Jul 29, 2026. It gave "unmodified" (clean) opinions on the financial statements (PDF page 238) Verified2.
Our reading: The city used savings to pay off pension debt early. That made FY2025 look like a big deficit year, but it is also why the FY2026 budget could pause those payments.
How the budget gets made
Lessons: Art. XIII B: the spending limitArt. XIII A: property tax (Prop. 13)
The rules and where to find the documentsMunicipal code ch. 3.20
The municipal code requires the Council to adopt a city budget that estimates revenue and spending, and to hold public hearings on it (§§3.20.010, 3.20.040) Verified4. The official code is on Municode, which blocks automated readers, so we read a third-party copy. See the Municode note.
- The budget, audits and impact fee reports are on the city's financial statements page Verified5.
- The budget PDF is a scan. Exhibit A calls it a "Preliminary" budget, and the department pages say "Proposed" Verified1.
- Budget items show up on Council agendas. Watch for them in Agenda Watch.
This is unofficial education, not legal or financial advice. We copied every figure from the document named under its table. If a number matters to you, check it in the source PDF.
Sources cited on this page
- Two-year budget, FY2026 and FY2027 ("submitted 7.16.25") Scanned and partly sideways. Figures used here come from Exhibit A (PDF page 7, titled "City-Wide Fund Summary and Preliminary Operating Budgets"), Exhibit D (PDF page 11) and the department pages (PDF pages 13 to 26, headed "Proposed"), read by eye. The department totals add up to the Exhibit A totals. ↗
- City Council agenda packet, September 16, 2026 (file named "Packet 9.10.26") Holds the August 19, 2026 minutes (Resolutions 26-23 to 26-27; Ordinances 278-26 on noise and 279-26 adopted) and the audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025 (General Fund budget-to-actual on PDF page 207; management discussion on PDF pages 149 to 151). Text layer. ↗
- City Council agenda packet, September 17, 2025 Holds the July 16, 2025 minutes, where the Council approved the preliminary FY2026 and FY2027 budget (PDF pages 20 to 22). Scanned; read with OCR. ↗
- Williams Municipal Code ch. 3.20 (Budget system) (GoCodebook mirror) Third-party mirror (2026-10 edition). §3.20.010 requires an adopted city budget; §3.20.040 requires hearings. Check wording on Municode. ↗
- Finance: financial statements page Where the city posts its audits, budget and development impact fee reports. ↗
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