CivicCause budget overview

Daly City Budget Overview

FY2026 Approved/adopted biennial year one with FY2027 approved/adopted biennial year two comparison

Daly City's adopted FY2026/FY2027 biennial budget maintains services while using General Fund reserves to cover a structural gap. General Fund revenue rises from about $121.9M to $125.5M, but spending rises from about $129.8M to $134.3M.

FY2026 citywide budget

$261.6M

Operating and capital expenditure budget across all funds.

FY2027 citywide budget

$265.7M

Approved year-two operating and capital expenditure budget.

FY2027 General Fund spending

$134.3M

Approved General Fund expenditures.

FY2027 reserve use

$8.8M

Planned reserve use to mitigate the anticipated General Fund deficit.

Daly City should be described as reserve-supported, not balanced. The adopted budget uses about $7.9M of General Fund reserves in FY2026 and $8.8M in FY2027, while projected unassigned reserves remain above the City's 17% target.

General Fund revenue

FY2026 approved

$121.942M

FY2027 approved

$125.518M

+$3.577M

Revenue grows, led by property tax, sales tax, utility users tax, and business license taxes.

General Fund spending

FY2026 approved

$129.840M

FY2027 approved

$134.281M

+$4.441M

Spending rises faster than revenue, so the planned reserve use grows in year two.

Revenue less spending

FY2026 approved

about -$7.9M

FY2027 approved

about -$8.8M

gap widens by about $0.9M

The City identifies a structural General Fund deficit and uses reserves to maintain service levels.

Unassigned reserve balance

FY2026 projected

$53.8M

FY2027 projected

$45.0M

-$8.8M

The projected unassigned balance remains above the City's 17% reserve target.

Approved-year comparison

Measure

FY2026

FY2027

Change

General Fund revenue

$121.942M

$125.518M

+$3.577M

General Fund spending

$129.840M

$134.281M

+$4.441M

Planned reserve use

$7.9M

$8.8M

+$0.9M

Citywide operating and capital budget

$261.6M

$265.7M

+$4.1M

Projected unassigned reserve balance

$53.8M

$45.0M

-$8.8M

Revenue summary

Expenditure summary

Reserve and fund balance

Daly City's budget explicitly uses reserves to maintain current service levels. The projected unassigned General Fund balance declines from $53.8M to $45.0M across the biennium but remains above the City's 17% reserve policy target.

FY2026 unassigned reserve balance

$53.8M

Projected at 41.4% of budgeted expenditures.

FY2027 unassigned reserve balance

$45.0M

Projected at 33.4% of budgeted expenditures.

Reserve policy target

17%

Equal to two months of annual General Fund budgeted expenditures.

FY2027 planned reserve use

$8.8M

Used to mitigate the anticipated General Fund deficit.

Resident-facing budget story

The adopted budget is reserve-supported because General Fund spending exceeds revenue in both years.
Property tax and sales tax make up the majority of General Fund revenue.
Public safety is the dominant General Fund spending area, with Police and Fire together representing about 64% of the FY2026 General Fund budget.
Long-term pressures include CalPERS pension costs, limited revenue diversity, water and sewer costs, facility needs, streets, stormwater, and park infrastructure.
CIP should remain separate from the General Fund operating comparison because it funds one-time infrastructure and capital work.

Resident-facing spending areas

Public Safety

$85.3M

FY2027 Police and Fire General Fund spending combined.

Infrastructure / Public Works

$11.7M

FY2027 General Fund Public Works operating spending, separate from CIP.

Culture and Recreation

$17.9M

FY2027 Library and Recreation services grouped in the budget overview.

Planning and Development

$5.3M

FY2027 Economic and Community Development spending.

Capital Improvement Program

Daly City's two-year CIP focuses on repairing, maintaining, rehabilitating, or reconstructing existing infrastructure. The City says limited revenues and the General Fund structural deficit led the CIP to prioritize infrastructure maintenance, regulatory requirements, and mission-critical projects.

Two-year CIP total

$34.3M

FY2026 plus FY2027 CIP budget from the budget overview.

FY2026 CIP

$16.6M

Adopted first-year capital improvement budget.

FY2027 CIP

$17.7M

Adopted second-year capital improvement budget.

General Fund Capital

Facilities and parks

ADA upgrades, HVAC and roof replacements, parking lots, parks, storm drains, Mussel Rock, and fire-station improvements.

Transportation

Pavement-led

The Transportation Fund is focused heavily on pavement preservation, bicycle, pedestrian, and ADA improvements.

Water

Utility system

Water projects include pipelines, facilities, and distribution-system needs.

Wastewater

Utility system

The City identifies 10 sanitation capital projects in FY2026 and 8 in FY2027.

Example resident-facing capital themes

Pavement preservation and street maintenance
Bicycle, pedestrian, and ADA improvements
Mussel Rock Landfill regulatory compliance and maintenance
Facility ADA, HVAC, roof, and parking lot improvements
Water pipeline and facility projects
Sanitation and wastewater capital projects
Parking meter upgrades funded at $0.5M in each year

CivicCause uses the official FY2026/FY2027 adopted biennial budget as the primary source. Citywide revenue is not used as a headline because the clearest resident-facing all-funds value in the source mapping is the operating and capital expenditure budget.

Official sources

Daly City Budgets & Financial Reports

Official Finance & Administrative Services budget and financial report index.

FY2026/FY2027 Operating and Capital Budget

Primary adopted biennial operating and capital budget source for CivicCause figures.

FY2026/FY2027 CIP Budget Book

Supporting capital improvement source.

FY2025 Operating and Capital Budget

Historical context source; not used as the primary comparison baseline.

FY2025 Annual Financial Report

Audited financial context for future refreshes.