Economic Development Authority Meeting Date: October 26, 2026
To: Members of the Economic Development Authority
From: Scott Wopata, Community Development Director
Emery John, Interim Program Coordinator
Title
Consider Approving the 2027 Budget for the Economic Development Authority
Body
Action Requested:
Commission approves a motion to approve the proposed 2027 Annual budget for the Economic Development Authority (EDA).
Summary Report:
Financial statements for the EDA are being incrementally adjusted and formatted to provide more clarity, transparency, and shared understanding. The EDA provided direction in September of 2026 to move from monthly to quarterly financial updates while maintaining enough detail to differentiate general operating costs (non-discretionary) from programming and investment options (discretionary).
Q3 Financials are attached and include a Balance Sheet and an Income/Expense Statement. The proposed 2027 budget is included on the Income/Expense statement.
There are two planned changes that will appear in the Q4 financials that are not yet in place for Q3:
1) Fund 292 - EDA Investment Fund will be converted to only include investment related activities such as revolving loans, revolving loan reserves, savings, investments, and associated interest and investment income.
2) Fund 290 - EDA General will be pulled into two categories to differentiate general operating (non-discretionary) from EDA programming.
These two planned changes will align the account structures of the EDA with the account structures of the HRA. Mirroring structures will provide greater clarity in line with the proposed consolidation of the HRA and EDA.
One additional change that is pending and will be discussed is related to restricted balance of the Revolving Loan Reserve. EDA provided direction to adjust this to 10% of the total revolving loan reserve principal balance. Staff are working with the City finance department to finalize this policy for adoption. It will likely be completed and ready for approval during Q4 2026. This change in policy will unrestrict about $550,000 of EDA funds.
The 2027 Budget is presented in line with the formatting that has been presented over the past few months. The projected 2026 budget performance is relatively neutral with some typical city tax revenue timing concerns (ie: property tax revenues are received twice a year and the 2nd payment hasn’t been received). Other unique expenses in 2026 include:
1) Land Development Code Update - The EDA paid for 1/3 of the LDC update; along with Planning & Zoning at 1/3 and the HRA at 1/3
2) Federal Action Business Support - The EDA approved $100,000 of additional expenses for potential support of businesses that faced challenges during the Federal immigration enforcement surge in early 2026. Funds unspent from this will be redirected to the proposed historic building pilot program
3) Staff transitions - Community Development has consolidated two positions into one staff position. Additionally, the Community Development Director position experienced turnover. These vacancies and the associated staff allocations have made the personnel budget more irregular in 2025 and 2026. This should normalize in 2027.
Highlights of the 2027 budget include
a) A neutral year end cash flow position
b) $791,589 of unrestricted funds for EDA policy direction
c) $264,707 of discretionary program allocations
Projected unrestricted funds and program allocations are attached as pie charts for clarity and discussion.
Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the proposed 2027 Annual budget for the Economic Development Authority.
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
N/A
Alternative Options:
N/A
Financial Impacts:
N/A
Tentative Timelines:
N/A