The California Board of Aldermen passed the largest budget in the city's history during a special session on Monday.
Mayor Rich Green said the projected expenditures for California's 2023-24 budget totaled $12,596,000. Most of the funds for this year's budget will be taken from money saved by the city.
Initially, board members decided to postpone finalizing the city's budget on March 20 after a debate began regarding the city's cost-of-living raise for employees and certified registered workers.
After going over the issue one last time, members decided to create a 9 percent cost-of-living adjustment, to account for inflation, with a 4 percent raise for all employees. Certified registered workers will gain a 7 percent raise on top of these measures to account for skill, education and labor.
Green told the Democrat much of the budget will be coming out of funds the city stockpiled when he initially took office, referred to as a "sweep account." He said the account, which initially had $4.5 million, now holds $6 million and will be used on multiple projects such as fixing city streets, fixing the city's wastewater treatment plant, installing a new electric substation and replacing Well Number 7.
However, the focus would not end there. The budget has allowed California to almost triple the amount of funds for road repairs, estimating expenditures between $750,000 and $1 million.
The city will also be rehabilitating its indoor pool at 310 W. Stella St. Residents have made it known they would like California to maintain the facility, however, due to its age many different elements need to be updated. The city will be fixing the building's ceiling, repainting and cleaning its walls, hiring a pool supervisor and installing additions such as a climbing wall and a kiddie slide.
"I'm really pleased with the budget," Green said. "It was a complete departure from anything that's ever been done before. And I was really pleased that the aldermen were pretty enthusiastic about it."