CivicCause budget overview
Los Altos Budget Overview
FY 2025-26 Budget and Recent Trends
Draft budget previewBudget document: FY 2025-26 adopted PDF
Los Altos's CivicCause budget overview highlights major current-year budget changes, department shifts, recent trends, and the official public source documents behind them.
This Los Altos budget preview is available for internal and prelaunch review. The all-funds summary currently implies an approximately $3.43M projected gap, revenue comparisons are General Fund-focused, and city launch status remains coming soon.
Total Budget
$112.6M
Derived from current total expenditures in the expenditure summary.
Projected Deficit
$3.4M
Derived as current total revenues minus current total expenditures.
What Changed
Largest department-level changes in the strongest currently loaded comparison layer.
Public Safety
↑
Increase+7.68%
2024/25: $25,088,207
2025/26: $27,016,213
+$1.9M
↑Increase
Development Services
↑
Increase+23.65%
2024/25: $5,796,244
2025/26: $7,166,896
+$1.4M
↑Increase
Parks and Recreation
↑
Increase+11.35%
2024/25: $8,611,373
2025/26: $9,588,551
+$977.2K
↑Increase
Public Works
↑
Increase+18.61%
2024/25: $2,733,602
2025/26: $3,242,367
+$508.8K
↑Increase
Finance
↑
Increase+24.72%
2024/25: $2,058,012
2025/26: $2,566,664
+$508.7K
↑Increase
Human Resources
↑
Increase+30.74%
2024/25: $1,580,573
2025/26: $2,066,391
+$485.8K
↑Increase
Department comparison
Los Altos department-level total expenditure comparison from the published General Fund Expenditure Summary.
| Name | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Safety | $25,088,207 | $27,016,213 | +$1.9M | +7.68% | ↑Increase |
| Development Services | $5,796,244 | $7,166,896 | +$1.4M | +23.65% | ↑Increase |
| Parks and Recreation | $8,611,373 | $9,588,551 | +$977.2K | +11.35% | ↑Increase |
| Public Works | $2,733,602 | $3,242,367 | +$508.8K | +18.61% | ↑Increase |
| Finance | $2,058,012 | $2,566,664 | +$508.7K | +24.72% | ↑Increase |
| Human Resources | $1,580,573 | $2,066,391 | +$485.8K | +30.74% | ↑Increase |
| City Manager's Office | $4,537,741 | $4,132,738 | -$405.0K | -8.93% | ↓Decrease |
| City Council | $904,905 | $1,018,533 | +$113.6K | +12.56% | ↑Increase |
Expenditure categories
Los Altos FY 2024/25 to FY 2025/26 expenditure comparison from the adopted operating budget PDF.
| Name | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfers Out | $20,810,577 | $6,952,719 | -$13.9M | -66.59% | ↓Decrease |
| Total Expenditures | $103,243,302 | $112,627,811 | +$9.4M | +9.09% | ↑Increase |
| Salaries & Benefits | $27,918,179 | $33,613,901 | +$5.7M | +20.40% | ↑Increase |
| Total General Fund Expenditures | $51,310,656 | $56,798,353 | +$5.5M | +10.70% | ↑Increase |
| Services & Supplies | $19,981,124 | $22,454,340 | +$2.5M | +12.38% | ↑Increase |
| Internal Service Allocation | $1,997,750 | $2,780,000 | +$782.3K | +39.16% | ↑Increase |
| Capital Outlay | $82,880 | $0 | -$82.9K | -100% | ↓Decrease |
| Debt Service | $844,925 | $842,490 | -$2.4K | -0.29% | ↓Decrease |
Revenue
Los Altos FY 2024/25 to FY 2025/26 revenue comparison from the adopted operating budget PDF, centered on General Fund published revenue categories plus an all-funds topline.
| Name | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenues and Other Financing Sources | $119,464,686 | $109,201,435 | -$10.3M | -8.59% | ↓Decrease |
| Property Taxes | $35,617,436 | $38,243,942 | +$2.6M | +7.37% | ↑Increase |
| General Fund Revenues and Transfers In | $62,916,002 | $65,187,217 | +$2.3M | +3.61% | ↑Increase |
| General Fund Revenues | $62,916,002 | $65,113,717 | +$2.2M | +3.49% | ↑Increase |
| Community Development Fees | $8,066,713 | $7,083,000 | -$983.7K | -12.19% | ↓Decrease |
| Miscellaneous Revenue | $447,437 | $1,132,696 | +$685.3K | +153% | ↑Increase |
| Interest Income | $2,000,000 | $1,656,000 | -$344.0K | -17.20% | ↓Decrease |
| Grants and Donations | $310,555 | $10,000 | -$300.6K | -96.78% | ↓Decrease |
| Recreation Fees | $1,493,166 | $1,647,790 | +$154.6K | +10.36% | ↑Increase |
| Other Taxes | $4,647,587 | $4,777,069 | +$129.5K | +2.79% | ↑Increase |
| Utility Users Tax | $4,007,785 | $4,128,018 | +$120.2K | +3.00% | ↑Increase |
| Franchise Fees | $2,759,673 | $2,842,464 | +$82.8K | +3.00% | ↑Increase |
| Transfer In | $0 | $73,500 | +$73.5K | — | ↑Increase |
| Sales Taxes | $3,565,650 | $3,592,738 | +$27.1K | +0.76% | ↑Increase |
| Intergovernmental Revenue | $0 | $0 | +$0 | — | →Flat |
| One-Time Revenue | $0 | $0 | +$0 | — | →Flat |
5-year department trends
This is the deeper trend section. Priority departments are shown first with labeled fiscal years, values, and a simple direction read.
Public Works
↓Decrease
2022/23 Actual$3,297,241
2025/26 Adopted$3,242,367
2022/23 Actual: $3.3M2023/24 Actual: $3.0M2024/25 Estimated: $2.7M2025/26 Adopted: $3.2M
5-year change: -$54.9K
↓Decrease
More department series
| Department | Latest year | Latest value | 5-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Council | 2025/26 Adopted | $1,018,533 | +$626.4K↑Increase |
| City Manager's Office | 2025/26 Adopted | $4,132,738 | -$542.6K↓Decrease |
| Development Services | 2025/26 Adopted | $7,166,896 | +$2.8M↑Increase |
| Finance | 2025/26 Adopted | $2,566,664 | +$836.4K↑Increase |
| Human Resources | 2025/26 Adopted | $2,066,391 | +$935.2K↑Increase |
| Parks and Recreation | 2025/26 Adopted | $9,588,551 | +$2.3M↑Increase |
| Public Safety | 2025/26 Adopted | $27,016,213 | +$6.3M↑Increase |
Community and Organization Perspectives
Perspectives on this budget will appear here.
Methodology and caveats
- Revenue comparison is General Fund-focused. The all-funds revenue total is preserved separately using the published Fund Balance Summary Schedule. The Los Altos adopted budget/CIMMP PDF and Budget in Brief PDF were read from locally saved files for extraction consistency, even though the city archive links appear more script-friendly than some other CivicPlus cities. Revenue comparison rows are General Fund-focused; the all-funds topline row comes from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule while category detail comes from the General Fund Revenue Summary. All-funds toplines use total inflows and total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule, which is better suited for budget cards than the narrative prose in Budget in Brief. Expenditure category rows are aggregated from published departmental budget summaries so the category output reflects General Fund operating categories rather than a citywide all-funds expenditure-by-type table. Department trend output is a published four-point series from the General Fund Expenditure Summary (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited trend rebuilt from ACFR data. CIMMP category output is a funding-source rollup from the Five-Year Project by Funding Source table; a deeper project-type classification pass could be added later if needed. Budget in Brief was used only as validation/supporting context for toplines and CIMMP narrative, not as the primary numeric source.
- Uses all-funds total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule plus aggregated General Fund operating categories from the published departmental summaries. The Los Altos adopted budget/CIMMP PDF and Budget in Brief PDF were read from locally saved files for extraction consistency, even though the city archive links appear more script-friendly than some other CivicPlus cities. Revenue comparison rows are General Fund-focused; the all-funds topline row comes from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule while category detail comes from the General Fund Revenue Summary. All-funds toplines use total inflows and total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule, which is better suited for budget cards than the narrative prose in Budget in Brief. Expenditure category rows are aggregated from published departmental budget summaries so the category output reflects General Fund operating categories rather than a citywide all-funds expenditure-by-type table. Department trend output is a published four-point series from the General Fund Expenditure Summary (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited trend rebuilt from ACFR data. CIMMP category output is a funding-source rollup from the Five-Year Project by Funding Source table; a deeper project-type classification pass could be added later if needed. Budget in Brief was used only as validation/supporting context for toplines and CIMMP narrative, not as the primary numeric source.
- Compares FY 2024/25 estimated to FY 2025/26 adopted using the published department total lines. The Los Altos adopted budget/CIMMP PDF and Budget in Brief PDF were read from locally saved files for extraction consistency, even though the city archive links appear more script-friendly than some other CivicPlus cities. Revenue comparison rows are General Fund-focused; the all-funds topline row comes from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule while category detail comes from the General Fund Revenue Summary. All-funds toplines use total inflows and total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule, which is better suited for budget cards than the narrative prose in Budget in Brief. Expenditure category rows are aggregated from published departmental budget summaries so the category output reflects General Fund operating categories rather than a citywide all-funds expenditure-by-type table. Department trend output is a published four-point series from the General Fund Expenditure Summary (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited trend rebuilt from ACFR data. CIMMP category output is a funding-source rollup from the Five-Year Project by Funding Source table; a deeper project-type classification pass could be added later if needed. Budget in Brief was used only as validation/supporting context for toplines and CIMMP narrative, not as the primary numeric source.
- This dataset is a four-point published trend (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited five-year trend. The Los Altos adopted budget/CIMMP PDF and Budget in Brief PDF were read from locally saved files for extraction consistency, even though the city archive links appear more script-friendly than some other CivicPlus cities. Revenue comparison rows are General Fund-focused; the all-funds topline row comes from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule while category detail comes from the General Fund Revenue Summary. All-funds toplines use total inflows and total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule, which is better suited for budget cards than the narrative prose in Budget in Brief. Expenditure category rows are aggregated from published departmental budget summaries so the category output reflects General Fund operating categories rather than a citywide all-funds expenditure-by-type table. Department trend output is a published four-point series from the General Fund Expenditure Summary (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited trend rebuilt from ACFR data. CIMMP category output is a funding-source rollup from the Five-Year Project by Funding Source table; a deeper project-type classification pass could be added later if needed. Budget in Brief was used only as validation/supporting context for toplines and CIMMP narrative, not as the primary numeric source.
Sources and official documents
FY 2025/26 Adopted Operating Budget and FY 2026/30 CIMMP PDF
Section: Adopted Operating Budget and CIMMP PDF
Fiscal year: FY 2025/26
Column used: fy-2025-2026-adopted-operating-cimmp.pdf
Notes: Local PDF artifact imported from /Users/Gumby/Projects/civicpulse/tmp/budget/losaltos/source/fy-2025-2026-adopted-operating-cimmp.pdf. Document title: City of Los Altos FY 2025-26 Operating Budget and FY 2026-30 CIMMP. The Los Altos adopted budget/CIMMP PDF and Budget in Brief PDF were read from locally saved files for extraction consistency, even though the city archive links appear more script-friendly than some other CivicPlus cities. Revenue comparison rows are General Fund-focused; the all-funds topline row comes from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule while category detail comes from the General Fund Revenue Summary. All-funds toplines use total inflows and total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule, which is better suited for budget cards than the narrative prose in Budget in Brief. Expenditure category rows are aggregated from published departmental budget summaries so the category output reflects General Fund operating categories rather than a citywide all-funds expenditure-by-type table. Department trend output is a published four-point series from the General Fund Expenditure Summary (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited trend rebuilt from ACFR data. CIMMP category output is a funding-source rollup from the Five-Year Project by Funding Source table; a deeper project-type classification pass could be added later if needed. Budget in Brief was used only as validation/supporting context for toplines and CIMMP narrative, not as the primary numeric source.
FY 2026 Budget in Brief PDF
Section: Budget in Brief PDF
Fiscal year: FY 2025/26
Column used: fy-2026-budget-in-brief.pdf
Notes: Local PDF artifact imported from /Users/Gumby/Projects/civicpulse/tmp/budget/losaltos/source/fy-2026-budget-in-brief.pdf. Document title: City of Los Altos FY 2026 Budget in Brief. The Los Altos adopted budget/CIMMP PDF and Budget in Brief PDF were read from locally saved files for extraction consistency, even though the city archive links appear more script-friendly than some other CivicPlus cities. Revenue comparison rows are General Fund-focused; the all-funds topline row comes from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule while category detail comes from the General Fund Revenue Summary. All-funds toplines use total inflows and total outflows from the Fund Balance Summary Schedule, which is better suited for budget cards than the narrative prose in Budget in Brief. Expenditure category rows are aggregated from published departmental budget summaries so the category output reflects General Fund operating categories rather than a citywide all-funds expenditure-by-type table. Department trend output is a published four-point series from the General Fund Expenditure Summary (2022/23 actual, 2023/24 actual, 2024/25 estimated, 2025/26 adopted), not a normalized audited trend rebuilt from ACFR data. CIMMP category output is a funding-source rollup from the Five-Year Project by Funding Source table; a deeper project-type classification pass could be added later if needed. Budget in Brief was used only as validation/supporting context for toplines and CIMMP narrative, not as the primary numeric source.
Los Altos operating and capital budgets page
Section: Official budget page
Fiscal year: FY 2025-26
Column used: official_budget_page
Notes: Reference only.
Relevant printed pages in the adopted budget and Budget in Brief PDFs
Section: Relevant printed pages
Fiscal year: FY 2025-26
Column used: page_references
Notes: Printed page references: {"fundBalanceSummary":{"pageRange":"Adopted budget pages 31-32","note":"All-funds beginning balance, inflows, outflows, and ending balance used for toplines."},"generalFundSummary":{"pageRange":"Adopted budget page 33","note":"General Fund high-level revenues, program expenditures, debt service, and transfers."},"generalFundRevenueDetail":{"pageRange":"Adopted budget page 34","note":"General Fund revenue categories used for FY 2024/25 estimated to FY 2025/26 budget comparisons."},"departmentBudgets":{"pageRange":"Adopted budget pages 39-67","note":"Detailed department budget summaries used for department comparisons and published multi-year trends."},"cimmpFundingSourceSummary":{"pageRange":"Adopted budget page 70","note":"Five-year project by funding source table used for CIMMP funding-source category rollups."},"budgetInBrief":{"pageRange":"Budget in Brief pages 7-10","note":"Supporting validation for General Fund toplines and CIMMP toplines only."}}.