Taxation and Fiscal Policy
CivicCause Budget Signals
Emeryville Budget Overview
Emeryville's adopted FY2026-27 budget keeps services funded, but the General Fund is structurally pressured. Ongoing General Fund revenues are below expenditures, the budget uses a $4.0M transfer from the Economic Uncertainty Reserve, and the City still projects a $5.4M General Fund balance draw for the year.
Adopted budget posture
Reserve-supported with structural pressure
Budget status: Reserve-supported with structural pressure. The adopted FY2026-27 source package shows a $147.7M total budget, $143.0M operating budget, $4.7M capital spending, $47.6M in General Fund revenue before transfers, $57.1M in General Fund expenditures and transfers, and a $4.0M Economic Uncertainty Reserve transfer.
Headline signals
FY2026-27 total budget
$147.7M
Annual operating plus capital expenditures in the adopted FY2025-27 budget.
Operating budget
$143.0M
Citywide FY2026-27 operating expenditures across all funds.
Capital spending
$4.7M
FY2026-27 capital expenditures; FY2025-26 carries the larger capital year at $85.1M.
General Fund expenditures
$57.1M
FY2026-27 General Fund expenditures and transfers out, including a small capital line.
General Fund revenue
$47.6M
FY2026-27 General Fund revenue before transfers in.
Reserve transfer
$4.0M
FY2026-27 transfer from the Economic Uncertainty Reserve into the General Fund.
Budget Signals
Taxation and Fiscal Policy
$147.7M
Total budget
Annual FY2026-27 all-funds operating plus capital budget.
Taxation and Fiscal Policy
$9.9M
Structural General Fund gap
Projected FY2026-27 General Fund revenue/expenditure deficit before cuts and transfers.
Public Safety
$33.5M
Public safety
FY2026-27 Police and Fire General Fund department budgets combined.
Housing & Land Use
$18.2M
Housing funds
FY2026-27 Measure C Housing Bonds, Affordable Housing, Housing Successor, and housing-related fund expenditures.
Infrastructure
$30.6M
Five-year CIP
The 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program covers 48 projects across buildings, streets, sewers, parks, technology, housing, and urban greening.
Transportation
$830K
Sustainable transportation
FY2026-27 General Capital Fund allocation for Sustainable Streetscapes.
What changed from FY2023-24 actuals?
Compact comparison from Emeryville's official FY2025-27 adopted budget book. FY2023-24 is the most recent completed actual baseline shown in the current budget; FY2026-27 is the current adopted annual plan.
General Fund expenditures
IncreaseFY2023-24 actual
$57.0M
FY2026-27 adopted
$57.1M
Change
+$0.1M
+0.2%
Total General Fund expenditures and transfers remain near the FY2023-24 actual level, but reserve support is now needed because ongoing revenue is lower.
General Fund revenue before transfers
DecreaseFY2023-24 actual
$49.6M
FY2026-27 adopted
$47.6M
Change
-$1.9M
-3.9%
Baseline revenue is lower than the last completed actual year, before the FY2026-27 reserve transfer.
Police
IncreaseFY2023-24 actual
$17.0M
FY2026-27 adopted
$20.3M
Change
+$3.3M
+19.4%
Police is the largest General Fund department and rises from the FY2023-24 actual baseline.
Fire
IncreaseFY2023-24 actual
$11.7M
FY2026-27 adopted
$13.2M
Change
+$1.5M
+13.2%
Fire contract and legacy pension costs continue to grow.
Community Services
IncreaseFY2023-24 actual
$3.6M
FY2026-27 adopted
$4.7M
Change
+$1.1M
+29.3%
Community services include recreation, youth, senior, and public-facing program activity.
Public Works
IncreaseFY2023-24 actual
$4.9M
FY2026-27 adopted
$5.4M
Change
+$0.5M
+9.8%
General Fund public works grows modestly, while major capital work is tracked in separate capital funds.
Community Development
DecreaseFY2023-24 actual
$3.5M
FY2026-27 adopted
$3.2M
Change
-$0.3M
-9.1%
General Fund Community Development declines from FY2023-24 actuals; housing activity is tracked heavily in separate restricted housing funds.
Resident-facing operating signals
FY2025-26 total budget
$227.2M
First year of the adopted biennial budget, with unusually high capital spending of $85.1M.
FY2025-27 two-year total
$375.0M
Two-year operating plus capital expenditures across FY2025-26 and FY2026-27.
General Fund balance draw
$5.4M
Projected FY2026-27 net change in the General Fund balance after transfers.
Unassigned General Fund
21.1%
Projected FY2026-27 unassigned General Fund reserve, just above the City's 20% target.
Economic Uncertainty Reserve
36.1%
Projected FY2026-27 reserve level versus the City's 50% target.
Staffing
174.61 FTE
Adopted staffing level across General Fund, special revenue, and enterprise funds.
Operating, reserves, and CIP signals
Measure C Housing Bonds
$17.3M
FY2026-27 operating expenditures in the Measure C Housing Bonds fund.
Sustainable Streetscapes
$830K
FY2026-27 General Capital Fund budget for the Sustainable Streetscapes project.
Stormwater Management
$500K
FY2026-27 General Capital Fund allocation for stormwater management.
ADA Transition Plan
$450K
FY2026-27 General Capital Fund allocation for ADA transition work.
Technology capital
$295K
FY2026-27 Information Technology Fund capital project budget.
Major maintenance capital
$770K
FY2026-27 Major Maintenance Fund capital projects.
Capital and infrastructure signals
The adopted budget identifies a $30.6M 2025-2030 CIP with 48 projects.
The FY2026-27 annual budget includes $4.7M in capital expenditures, while FY2025-26 includes $85.1M because several large capital projects are budgeted in the first biennial year.
The CIP categories are Community Facilities, Essential Infrastructure, Housing, Information Technology, Sustainable Transportation, and Urban Greening.
FY2026-27 General Capital project allocations include Sustainable Streetscapes, stormwater management, ADA transition work, bridge maintenance, parks, urban tree planting, and climate action implementation.
The City notes that remaining three CIP years are planning years and are reevaluated in future budget cycles.
Risks and caveats
This first Emeryville budget page uses official City sources only. The current budget is a two-year FY2025-27 adopted budget approved June 3, 2025. Department comparisons use the budget book's FY2023-24 actual column because FY2024-25 is presented as a projection, not a completed actual.
The five-year forecast shows annual General Fund structural deficits from roughly $9.7M to $14.6M before corrective actions and transfers.
The Economic Uncertainty Reserve is projected below the City's 50% target in FY2026-27.
The unassigned General Fund balance is projected just above the 20% target in FY2026-27, leaving less room if revenue weakens.
Capital comparisons are affected by timing: FY2025-26 carries large carryforward and grant-funded capital appropriations that are not repeated in FY2026-27.
Related causes
Follow the issues behind this budget
These links come from budget categories and cause labels already shown on this page. They point to cause pages where CivicCause tracks related meetings, issues, and civic activity.
Official sources
Emeryville Finance / budgets hub
Official City Finance page with current and prior budget documents.
FY2025-27 adopted budget PDF
Official current adopted two-year budget approved June 3, 2025.
FY2023-25 adopted budget PDF
Official prior adopted budget used for source continuity and previous-cycle context.
2023-2028 CIP report PDF
Official prior CIP report used as supplemental capital-program context; current 2025-2030 CIP summary is in the FY2025-27 budget book.
Related civic activity
See where budget topics show up in public records
These links use existing cause relationships in Emeryville: public meetings, tracked issues, and organizations already connected to the same causes as this budget.
Crime and Public Safety
Housing Affordability
Infrastructure
Transportation
Share this budget