Budget

What is the Budget?

Under State law, each city must pass a municipal budget by June 30th to cover the next fiscal year, which starts on July 1st and ends the following year on June 30th. Under the Berkeley City Charter, a balanced budget must be approved.

The purpose of the City of Berkeley’s budget is to serve as a “blueprint” for providing City services and as a working financial plan for the fiscal year. It also represents the official organization plan by which City policies, priorities, and programs are implemented. The budget provides the means to communicate to the residents, businesses, and employees how the City’s financial resources are used to provide services to the community.

There are several categories that make up the structure of the budget, as described below.

  • General Fund: This is a flexible, discretionary fund that pays for a wide array of city services. This accounts for over a third of the City budget, which represents the largest slice of the budgetary pie. Half of the General Fund is used for public safety (police and fire). Two thirds of the General Fund is used for personnel costs (i.e. employee salaries) and the other third for non-personnel costs.

  • Enterprise Funds: These are fees paid for specific city services and are restricted for those specific purposes. Examples of this include the Permit Service Center, Zero Waste Fund, Sanitary Sewer Fund, and the Marina Fund.

  • Special Revenue Funds: These are revenue sources legally restricted to a specific purpose, service or program and include tax-based revenues. Examples include Parks, Libraries, and Business Improvement Districts.

The budget includes other types of funds/revenues/expenditures, including but not limited to bonds, debt service, grants, and internal service funds.

Previous Budgets

The current budget is Fiscal Year 2023-2024, which lasts from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024. Typically, budgets operate on a two-year cycle, but the previous two years have been a one-year cycle due to the economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find an archive of previous budgets here.

Current Budget Cycle

The FY2023-24 budget was approved on June 28th, 2022 after a six-month process that included dozens of public meetings. The approved budget can be found here.

Highlights of the budget include:

  • $34 million for various infrastructure projects that will help advance Vision 2050. This is a long-term plan to build, upgrade and repair our infrastructure to be more sustainable and resilient in order to meet the challenges we face in the future including climate change.

  • $10 million for public safety initiatives. This will fund the police, a new Department of Community Safety, violence prevention and youth services, and mental health services including a mental health center at Berkeley High School.

  • $2.15 million to improve transportation. $1.15 will fund vehicle charging stations and the city’s transition to zero emissions, and $1 million for low-carbon transit and mobility infrastructure such as bike lanes and pedestrian safety upgrades.

  • $3 million in housing programs, including $1 million for the Housing Retention Program, $1.8 million for anti-displacement programs, emergency rental assistance, legal representation and flexible housing funds for the homeless, and $300k for the development of a social housing policy

  • $1 million for small businesses rental and legal support, including a grant program for small businesses to support COVID-19 recovery.

  • $5.5 million towards the Section 115 Pension Trust annually with the goal of eventually achieving a balance of $25-$50 million. Established in 2018, the Trust currently has nearly $15 million.

In June 2023, an updated budget for FY 2024 was approved.