“Streamlining our budget process with Euna Budget has saved the City three months in the compilation of budget information.”
— Teri Ferro, Retired Financial Services Director
The City of Oceanside, located on the coast between San Diego and Los Angeles, is home to 173,000 residents and is the third-largest city in San Diego County. Known for its iconic landmarks such as the Oceanside Pier and Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, the city has been focused on financial recovery and improving its budgeting processes in the wake of economic challenges faced by many U.S. municipalities.
Needs
The City of Oceanside needed a budgeting solution that provided accurate, integrated financial information. With a biennial budget of $315 million, each department had a designated budget representative preparing individual spreadsheets. This decentralized process created inefficiencies, with data being difficult to manage, track, and verify. Oceanside selected Euna Budget Professional, opting for the Operating, Personnel, and Capital budgeting modules to address these challenges.
Challenges
Oceanside’s previous budget process was fragmented and time-consuming. Each department developed its budget separately, resulting in inconsistent formats and multiple data sources. Consolidating these budgets required significant manual effort, with the Finance team dedicating three full-time staff to compile, review, and prepare a final consolidated budget. There were no business rules governing how departments should structure their budgets, which often led to errors, duplication, and challenges with version control.
Additionally, the lack of centralized data made it difficult to link budget data to its source, track changes, and maintain historical records. Budget updates requested by city management could take up to a week to compile, as there was no real-time access to accurate financial information.
Solution
Oceanside went through an RFP process and, after reviewing six different tools, selected Euna Budget Professional due to its robust features and responsive support team. The implementation of Euna Budget Professional provided Oceanside with a centralized budgeting system, offering real-time access to data and automated workflows that streamlined the entire process.
Benefits
Reliable Financial Picture
Euna Budget Professional provided Oceanside with the accuracy and control they had been seeking. Users can now attach historical data and documents directly to the budget, ensuring confidence in the budget presented to City Council. Previous issues like missing documents, broken links, and outdated figures have been eliminated.
Flexible, Integrated System
Euna Budget Professional’s integrated system allows all budget representatives to access and edit their budgets online, and changes are updated instantly. The system’s integration with Oceanside’s financial platform ensures that users always have access to the most current data, with automatic daily updates or on-demand refreshes available at the click of a button.
Enhanced Transparency
As transparency becomes increasingly important for governments, Euna Budget Professional allows internal resources to access the most up-to-date budget data. No longer hidden in separate files controlled only by Finance, the new system provides a clearer view of the budget for all departments and constituents.
Significant Time Savings
Euna Budget Professional streamlined Oceanside’s budget process, saving nearly three months of work. Previously, the budget compilation process began in December, with Finance spending months gathering and consolidating information. Now, departments start entering budget data in March, allowing Finance to focus on verification and adjustments in April and May, with the final budget ready for City Council in June.
Robust Personnel Budgeting Module
Initially, Oceanside was skeptical about whether the Personnel Budgeting module could handle its complex requirements. However, the module exceeded expectations, allowing them to run detailed scenarios for various bargaining groups and make changes down to the employee level. This flexibility enabled the City to respond quickly to changes in labor contracts and budgeting needs.
Forecasting Capabilities
Oceanside is just beginning to explore the full range of Euna Budget’s forecasting features. Given today’s challenging fiscal environment, being able to forecast both short- and long-term financial outcomes is crucial. The city can now proactively plan for a more sustainable financial future.
The City of Oceanside successfully transformed its budgeting process with Euna Budget Professional, gaining greater control, accuracy, and transparency in its financial management. By streamlining the process, Oceanside saved months of effort and empowered its departments with real-time financial data and increased ownership over their budgets.
“With today’s challenging economic conditions, the City’s management needs up-to-the-minute budget estimates and forecasts to make informed financial decisions. Euna Budget has gone beyond our expectations in that capacity.”
— Teri Ferro, Retired Financial Services Director
Interested in a More Efficient Budgeting Process?
The City of Oceanside significantly improved their budgeting process and reduced manual workloads with Euna Budget Professional. If you want to learn how your organization can streamline financial operations, reduce errors, and gain better control over your budgeting process, request a demo to see how Euna Budget Professional can work for you.