Contact:
John Pilger
Adam Levermore-Rich
(408) 730-7535
June 20, 2007
Release # 06-10
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Sunnyvale City Council voted their approval of a $278 million budget for Fiscal Year 2007/08. This is a 6.8 percent reduction from the City’s actual FY 2006/07 budget. Approval came at Council’s Tuesday (June 19) session.
City Manager Amy Chan, in her budget transmittal letter, noted “… we are finally in a stable and sustainable state. Our fiscal condition is sound and we are able to offer high-quality services that are important to our residents.”
The City, like the rest of Silicon Valley, was hard hit by the slumping economy in recent years. Sunnyvale’s renowned planning and financial management systems, however, were able to see the City through the worst of the economy, and are now reflecting the rebounding economy. Unlike most government agencies, Sunnyvale works with a 20-year budget forecast, balanced over the 20 years. Reserve funds are built and maintained in good economic periods, and those reserves are designed to carry the City through weaker periods. This includes contingency reserves of 20 percent for the General Fund and 25 percent for enterprise funds.
The City maintains a two-year operating budget cycle, which alternates annually between operations and projects. Fiscal Year 2007/08 is the second year of the cycle, focusing on City projects. The adopted budget calls for $40 million to be spent on capital and special projects over the upcoming year, and forecasts capital and special project expenditures at nearly $838 million over the next 20 years.