At the Twentynine Palms City Council meeting last night, Recreation Division Manager Kary Minatrea introduced two new employees hired by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, just in time for summer.
Finance Director Abigail Hernandez Conde then reviewed preliminary budget revisions before the council. “We need to update our city policy when it comes to reserves, lower it to 50 or 55 percent. The city is growing,” Conde said.
City Manager Frank Luckino noted that the budget is balanced, there is a surplus, and the city has yet to tap into its reserves, thus declaring it “a good budget year.” Luckino alluded to the hiring of more city staff to deal with the growth.
Concerning funds for COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for city employees, the council did approve a 6.9 percent increase.
The council also approved the transfers of $105,000 from General Fund to the Capital Projects fund for the Amboy Bike Path, and $66,422 from the General Fund to the Sewer Fund for site planning costs at Project Phoenix.
Final budget revisions will be presented to the council for approval on June 14
