On Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, the City Council held a publicly accessible retreat at One Culver. This day-long meeting was to focus in on the changes in the budgeting process for the city, and to offer some ideas on how goals could be met. The community was invited to be present, and the conference room was populated with council members and all the department directors, including City Manager Odis Jones.
Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Lisa Soghor set the tone, noting that this would be “A whole new budget process…with the goal of a balanced budget.”
Jones offered that ‘balanced’ was the top priority, but that it also had to be a budget that spoke to the city’s residents. “If we are balanced and not meeting people’s needs, then we will not be successful.”
Priority based budgeting is the practice of making budget decisions and allocating funds based on the needs of the community. Priority based budgets emphasize working with the resources available as a starting point rather than with the previous year’s expenditures, as well as allocating funding to programs rather than departments.
In previous years, city departments have presented their work plan for the coming year, based on the previous year. Typically, they ask for additional funds for specific reasons, such as hiring a new staff member or technician to meet a growing need. The council then looked at how to fund that position. Most of the municipal budget is dedicated to covering payroll for city employees. People are always the most important resource.
Focusing on programs rather than departments – that’s a whole new way for Culver City to look at things.
One of the reasons that Jones was hired by unanimous agreement of the council is his past expertise with city finances. Several of the larger cities he has managed in the past were struggling with insolvency. “We are nowhere near that, and that’s great. But we still have to figure out the structural deficit, and move the city towards being able to maintain balance.”
Soghor noted “We need to paint a picture of wants and needs…The General Fund cannot do it all.”
Also under discussion was the amount of funds required by city law as reserves. There is no state required standard, and cities in the region vary widely; with some holding as little as 10%, and others as much as 50%. Culver City’s standard of keeping 30% as a reserve met with much discussion over the last year in regard to meeting housing needs, versus keeping the money on hand.
So, how will the city approach the new system of priority budgeting? Soghor offered that it was a very detailed and intense process, and that what could be done to meet the deadlines for this coming years budget would be a “partial approach,” with some parts being implemented, and others added in later.
The city has already sent out notice to cancel the meetings scheduled for early March that would have been the annual departmental reports.
How the community input will be solicited to shape the budget process will be one of the next steps that the city will announce.
Judith Martin-Straw
