Honorable Mayor, Members of the City Council and Citizens of Laguna Niguel, I am proud to present the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget for the City of Laguna Niguel. This year’s budget motto, “Paving a Pathway to Excellence” is a blueprint to achieving our greatest potential as a City while building upon our longstanding devotion to excellence in service. This pathway is paved with continual attention and improvement in mind and is only possible due to an ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility and strategic planning. With these principles soundly in place, Laguna Niguel’s path is primed with high-quality public safety, well-maintained and upgraded infrastructure, beautiful open space, park and trail systems, and economic vitality. The excellence that can be achieved by paving this pathway is immeasurable and will serve to further enhance the quality of life that Laguna Niguel is already so well known for. The FY 2024-25 budget has been intentionally built with excellence in mind. Excellence is never an accident; it is the result of clear intention, sincere effort, strategic direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities. Our pathway is truly paved with promise and that begins and ends with the City’s mission, vision, and values, and the updated Strategic Plan. The updated Strategic Plan serves as our pathway as it continues to provide the specific goals, objectives, and strategies that guide our decision making and work plan. It is these very goals that have once again been utilized to develop the FY 2024-2025 budget. i