Stockton City Council unanimously approved a budget Tuesday worth more than $1 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, funding a spending plan focused on public safety, economic development and infrastructure while ordering a closer review of the city’s transparency and communications office.
The budget goes into effect July 1 and runs through June 30, 2027.
Chief Financial Officer Gilbert Garcia told councilmembers during a public hearing that citywide expenditures total about $1.05 billion, up roughly 7% from the previous year. Citywide revenues are projected to increase nearly 5% to about $973 million.
Garcia said the difference between revenues and expenditures reflects the city’s planned use of prior-year fund balances, primarily for capital projects.
“We typically fund our capital projects to pay in cash, pay as you go,” Garcia said. “We do not typically borrow money for our capital projects, so we use prior-year money.”
The city’s capital project budget is focused largely on utilities and transportation, including funding tied to Measure K, San Joaquin County’s half-cent transportation sales tax for local road and transit projects, and gas tax dollars, Garcia said. The budget also includes a five-year capital plan with more than $1.58 billion in projects, including transportation, utilities, facilities, police, fire, library and other citywide projects.
The city’s General Fund, which pays for core services such as police, fire, parks and administration, is projected at about $344.5 million in both revenues and expenditures.
Public safety remains the largest share of the General Fund. Garcia said police and fire together account for about 77% of General Fund spending, up slightly from by about a percentage point from last year.
“Most cities in California spend more than half of their General Fund budget on public safety,” Garcia said. “This is not anomalous.”
The city’s proposed budget presentation shows police making up 55% of General Fund expenditures and fire about 22%. Stockton Police Department spending across all funds totals about $202.2 million, while Fire Department spending totals about $101.6 million.
General Fund revenues are driven largely by sales and property taxes. Garcia said sales tax remains the largest share of General Fund revenue, but its growth has slowed.
“I did point out during the hearing that our sales tax is a smaller percent of our budget now,” Garcia said. “We do see declining growth in sales taxes. We’re not seeing an actual decline yet.”
The budget also projects about $52 million in available General Fund balance, money that functions as a financial cushion for emergencies, unexpected costs or revenue shortfalls. Garcia said the city’s reserves are projected at 15.47% of General Fund spending, slightly below the city’s 16.67% target, roughly the equivalent of keeping two months of operating costs on hand.
Fugazi said the city’s General Fund remains balanced, even though the broader citywide budget shows spending outpacing revenues. City officials said that difference is largely due to capital spending, which is long-term infrastructure and construction projects paid for with prior-year fund balances or other dedicated funding sources, rather than ongoing operating revenue.
“We’re structurally balanced,” Fugazi said, adding that the city does not anticipate layoffs or reductions to basic services under the budget.
The spending plan also includes a new agenda and legislative services manager position, which city staff said would support council agenda preparation, legislative workflow, compliance oversight, policy and staff report review, and coordination between departments.
The position is expected to top out at about $156,000 in base pay, Garcia said. Funding will come partly from the City Manager’s Office budget and a citywide marketing budget, with the rest charged to other departments.
Vice Mayor Jason Lee said the new position should also help councilmembers track constituent complaints and follow-up requests from their districts.
“One thing that we need help with is follow-up on all of our different district issues,” Lee said.
Much of the council discussion, however, centered on OPTIC — the Office of Public Transparency, Information and Communication — which is housed under the City Manager’s Office.
OPTIC was created under former interim City Manager Steve Colangelo, allegedly described as a response to the 2023-24 San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury report “Crisis in Government,” which called for greater transparency in Stockton city government.
The office was formed using money in the City Manager’s Office that had previously been used for the Office of Performance and Data Analytics — but its creation drew scrutiny because it was not clearly spelled out in last year’s budget and council was only later informed of its establishment. An outside investigation later found no laws or city policies were violated, though the process was described as “rushed and at times, confusing.”
Tony Mannor, the city’s public information officer, first revealed the office in a since-deleted Instagram video, describing it as an “anti-propaganda department” meant to “tell you everything.”
The office drew scrutiny after councilmembers questioned why it did not appear in the city budget. The adopted budget still listed the Office of Performance and Data Analytics, even though city officials later said that office’s staff and resources had been reallocated to create OPTIC.
An outside investigation later found no laws or city policies were violated, but described the process as “rushed and at times, confusing.”
Garcia said OPTIC is projected to spend about $900,000 in the current fiscal year. The new budget sets aside just over $1 million for the office’s staff and operations, including about $818,000 from the General Fund.
Lee and other councilmembers questioned whether the office has produced enough results to justify its funding. Lee said he did not feel comfortable approving a budget that included funding for a department he believes has “under delivered.”
The push for a clearer accounting of OPTIC’s work drew rare consensus from the council, with members across the dais agreeing the office needs closer review.
“What we were told we were going to give versus what we got doesn’t line up,” Lee said.
Tony Mannor, Stockton’s public information officer, defended the office’s work, saying OPTIC and the public information office support city departments, manage digital assets, broadcast council meetings and produce content for city platforms. He also pointed to the office’s role in assisting with public records requests, though Stocktonia previously reported that the city shifted responsibility for public access to city records to the City Clerk’s Office last year.
Mannor said the office has sharply expanded the city’s digital reach over the past year, producing more videos and social media posts while increasing online impressions and engagement.
Several councilmembers said they still want a clearer communications strategy, stronger branding and more timely promotion of city events.
Lee moved to approve the budget with direction for City Manager Johnny Ford to return within 30 days with an assessment and plan for OPTIC, including how the office’s funding, staffing and efforts are being used.
The motion also included the new agenda and legislative services manager position.
The council voted 7-0 to adopt the city’s fiscal year 2026-27 annual budget, along with the 2026-31 Capital Improvement Plan, the fee schedule, the city’s appropriations limit, and budgets for the city’s Parking Authority and Successor Agency.