The centerpiece of the May 11, 2026 Culver City Council meeting was the presentation of the proposed 2026-2027 city budget. This is the first budget from City Manager Odis Jones, who took the desk in December 2025.
In a series of meetings this Spring that were open to city residents, Jones stated that balancing the budget was one of his primary goals, and on Monday night he kept that promise.
Mayor Freddy Puza noted, at the end of the agenda item, “I’m thrilled… I’ve been sitting here, smiling throughout the entire presentation.” He thanked Jones and his team for all of their work.
Chief Financial Officer Steven Agostini began the presentation to the council, saying that the proposed budget was looking to “Preserve core General Fund services ….restore financial discipline and strengthen long-term stability…centered on service reliability and financial health. We expect this to lead to balanced budgets in the long term.”
The proposed budget has $208 million in revenue, $203.9 million in expenditure and a reserve of $4.1 million to be held for contingencies. The previous budget had a $16 million dollar imbalance, and Agostini noted that “the goal is not simply to balance the year, but to strengthen long-term sustainability.”
The CFO emphasized that the creation of the Joint Powers Authority, which the council approved at the previous meeting, will also enhance the city’s ability to get continue to improve credit ratings. This can be beneficial for long range planning.
The total budget of $393, 867,835.00 – just shy of $400 million – shows a General Fund of $203, 567, 974. The additional resources include Internal Service Funds, Capital Improvement Funds, Enterprise Fee Funds and Special Revenue Funds.
“We have a very diversified revenue base,” Angostini stated,” and that makes things going forward a little bit easier.” Sales Tax is still listed as the biggest slice of municipal income, bringing in almost 24% of the budget, with Business Tax projected to bring in just over 15%.
The lengthy presentation took a deep dive into details of every aspect of city income and expenses, from the crisis on housing affordability to the care of the urban forest.
Council member Bubba Fish gave significant praise to the new process that Jones had implemented. “Bringing in the community, creating ways to do this differently…this has been a total one-eighty.” Fish noted that previous budgets had been done ‘in-house’ without any viable way for the residents to bring their priorities and concerns.
Puza concluded his remarks by congratulating the team.”You said you would bring in a balanced budget, and you did it – This is our first balanced budget in three years.”
Full details on the budget are available on the Culver City website.
Judith Martin-Straw
