Elk Grove Proposes $491M Budget for Fiscal Year 2027; Boosts Police and Homelessness Spending
Even though local politicians brag about having a balanced budget, state law requires all California cities to implement one by July 1 which is the start of the fiscal year
City Manager Jason Behrmann presented a proposed $491 million total city budget for Fiscal Year 2027 to the Elk Grove City Council at last night's meeting.
The budget proposal, which includes a $107.5 million general fund expenditure recommendation, marks a $10 million general fund increase over the prior year. Revenue streams remain robust, driven primarily by equal shares of property and sales taxes, alongside $36 million generated by Measure E, a voter-approved sales tax.
Even though local politicians brag about having a balanced budget, state law requires all California cities to implement one by July 1 which is the start of the fiscal year. To meet this statutory deadline, the Elk Grove City Council is scheduled to formally approve the fiscal plan during one of its two scheduled meetings in June.
While noting the city's current fiscal health, Behrmann issued clear advisories regarding inescapable long-term economic challenges. He emphasized that despite strong current revenue projections over a five-year horizon, the city must remain disciplined.
"There's always risk. There's always things that will happen," Behrmann warned. "There will be the next recession. We don't know when it's going to happen, but we can guarantee that there will be a recession. They are cyclical."
To insulate the city against these inevitable downturns, the proposal funds $25.8 million in reserves and allocates $15.9 million into a city-controlled pension trust fund.
The presentation also sparked an active discussion regarding the rising financial demands of regional infrastructure and community services. Councilmember Kevin Spease addressed the comprehensive bundling of homelessness expenditures within the new budget layout, which offers a clear, single-picture overview of the funding.
Spease noted that the financial impact of providing these navigation and shelter services is substantial, adding that state mandates frequently push responsibilities onto local governments. He remarked that managing the ongoing issue is a complex task made possible locally by Measure E revenue.
"It's a problem that we can manage, not it's not a problem that we can solve," Spease said during the meeting. "There's a very big difference between the two."
The proposed budget allocates significant resources to homelessness, including expanding funding for outreach, prevention, encampment management, and navigating services. It also sets aside a total of $7 million in Measure E funds to secure construction costs for a permanent homeless shelter.
Public safety remains the largest single driver of the city's general fund, with the Elk Grove Police Department accounting for 64 percent of the fund’s total expenditures. Under the proposed budget, the department is set to add seven new positions including a forensic investigator, a parking enforcement technician, a real-time information center supervisor, and two information center operators.
The council will hold public hearings on the budget before its final vote next month. The full draft of the fiscal roadmap is available on the city's website under "FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget."
