Citrus Heights passes controversial budget in split 3-2 vote

Sentinel staff report–
The Citrus Heights City Council narrowly passed a balanced budget proposal on Thursday that will slash police funding for the next year by $3 million, unless federal stimulus money arrives and allows for increased police spending.

City staff said they expect to bring back budget revisions later this summer for council approval, once more is known about strings attached to the estimated $15.9 million the city is expected to receive from the federal American Rescue Plan.

Mayor Steve Miller, Vice Mayor Porsche Middleton, and Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins voted for the budget and associated cuts, while councilmen Bret Daniels and Tim Schaefer voted against the budget.

Daniels and Schaefer both pushed for delaying the vote until mid-May when a first round of about $8 million in federal money is expected to be received, noting the city has until June 30 to pass a budget before the next fiscal year begins July 1. Mayor Miller countered that the city must move forward on its own with a balanced budget and without relying on federal funds, noting frequent delays in promises from the federal government.

“We’ve always put a budget together on time and balanced, and this is as close as we’re going to get,” the mayor said. “It’s tight this year and it’s only going to get tighter.”

A Sentinel review of the past five years of City Council agendas show Citrus Heights has historically approved its budget much closer to the July 1 deadline, with the budget passed in June each year except for 2018 when the budget was adopted at the end of May.

Daniels also said public talk of cutting police budgets has caused unnecessary fear among residents, stating that federal money will fill in for any shortfalls in the city’s budget projections. Other council members countered that one-time monies can’t sustain ongoing costs and therefore shouldn’t be used for hiring staff without a long-term plan for funding.

Three public comments related to the budget were made during the meeting, which was held remotely via Zoom due to the pandemic. One expressed concern about the proposed budget and said public safety should always be last on the list of city service to cut, while another said a six-day review period was not sufficient time for the public to review the budget before it was voted on.

A third comment, made by former Councilman Albert Fox, said if salary cuts were to be considered it should start with cutting council member pay. Although each council member is only paid a $600 per month stipend, plus health benefits and several other reimbursements, Fox said the cost savings of cutting all council member pay and benefits would cover the cost of keeping one additional city employee.

The budget’s most significant cuts come from the Police Department, with 26 of the 27 full time positions cut in the city’s budget coming landing on police staff. Cuts will reduce the department’s budget from its current $22.5 million budget down to $19.5 million for the next fiscal year.

Read more: Citrus Heights releases 108-page proposed city budget, with cuts. Here’s what’s in it

The city has said cuts will be made by leaving unfilled positions vacant, rather than through layoffs. An additional seven limited or part-time positions are cut in various departments.

The approved $39 million budget for next year comes just shy of fully balancing, with a shortfall of just $77,000. The following year is projected to see a $3.7 million surplus, largely due to the city maintaining control of its property taxes for the first time. The surplus appears to go into the city’s General Fund reserves, increasing it to $9.3 million by mid-2023.