The Budget for the City of Pacific Grove represents a financial plan for one fiscal year, within the context of a five-year financial forecast. The Budget for Fiscal Year 2008/09 was introduced as an Ordinance on May 7, 2008 and adopted on May 21, 2008.

Key sections of the budget document include:

• City Manager's Transmittal letter: An overview of the plan for the budget year. It summarized key policy issues, financial challenges facing the City, along with major goals for the budget year.
• Summary of Services, Goals, and Objectives: Summarizes the City goals that are funded by the budget.
• General Fund Five-Year Forecast and Revenues: A planning tool that models the implications of current budget decisions and economic circumstances on the future.
• Department budgets: Department budgets are presented with an emphasis on each department's purpose and objectives for FY 2008/09. To the extent applicable, departments' budgets include the following information:

• Mission: The fundamental purpose for the department; answers the question, "why does the City have this department?"
• Services and responsibilities: Describes the functions performed by the department to fulfill the mission; answers the question, "what does the department do?
• Resources: Graphic display of the distribution of funds providing resources for the department.
• Appropriations summary: Displays the budgeted expenditure level for the department in FY 2007/08 compared with FY 2006/07 and FY 2005/06 levels, summarized by expenditure categories: personnel, services/contracts, materials/supplies, non-operating transfers, debt service (including lease payments), and capital.
• Staffing summary: Illustrates the change in full-time equivalent (FTE) positions from previous years.
• Major budget changes: Describes significant changes in the budget, department's organization, or staffing level, compared with the prior year's budget.
• Service objectives: Specific goals and initiatives that will be completed in the budget year.
• Performance indicators: Performance indicators are objective, quantitative measures that can help clarify the relationship between resources and services. Over time, with a series of high-quality performance measures and explanatory management information, budget decisions can be made with a clearer understanding of budget consequences. Budgets for departments that provide direct services to the public include a sampling of performance information currently available; mostly of the "output" type of indicator. During FY 2008/09, staff will continue to develop this information, with the goal of providing more robust performance information in coming years.