As our first president George Washington said, “We must consult our means rather than our wishes.” That is the same conservative fiscal approach which has served our City well over the past 30 years. From my time in the State Assembly, I have seen the challenge of balancing a budget first hand. I am proud to say that I, and my fellow councilmembers, have once again adopted a budget that is both on time and balanced – and we continue to maintain our AAA credit rating from Standard and Poor’s.

The 2017-18 annual operating budget comes in at $197.7 million and our annual capital improvement program budget comes in at $33.7 million. I am happy to report that our operating reserves continue to be at 20%.

This year’s capital improvement program budget includes funding for the design phase of the following projects: the new sheriff’s station, the new Canyon Country Community Center and the Saugus Recreation Center. Additionally, the Old Town Newhall Parking Structure is currently being constructed and is anticipated to be completed by summer 2018.

About $2.5 million from this year’s capital improvement program budget will go toward our Intelligent Transportation System. Under this system, traffic lights will be wired to get real time updates to adjust the flow of traffic and alleviate backups. Our transit riders will also benefit from this new budget as several City buses will be replaced with brand new ones.

Our annual budget includes allocations for services, projects and programs that are also part of the City’s five-year plan, Santa Clarita 2020. You can view the plan at SantaClarita2020.com.

If you are interested in reviewing the budget in its entirety, including budgets for past years, check out the City’s website at Santa-Clarita.com.

Mayor Cameron Smyth

Mayor Smyth is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at csmyth@santa-clarita.com.