By Sara Beth Williams–
A review of the city’s recently adopted budget found differences totaling over $690,000 across two fiscal years in Citrus Heights Police Department budget figures.
For Fiscal Year 2025–26, the “Summary of All City Funds” table in the June 11 agenda packet, page 85, lists the Police Department’s total budget as $28,049,075. A separate breakdown later in the same packet, page 94, lists total department expenses as $28,459,949—a difference of more than $400,000.
For the following fiscal year, the summary table lists the total budget as $28,549,778, while the departmental breakdown shows a total of $28,839,876—a difference of more than $290,000.
When asked for clarification, city officials issued a statement saying, “The ‘Summary of All City Funds’ table in the budget adoption staff report correctly lists the overall Police Department budget as $28,049,075.”
During a Special City Council meeting on May 28, held prior to budget approval on June 11, Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa requested a more detailed breakdown of how funding is allocated within the Police Department. To support that request, the Finance Department created a draft titled “Police Department by Division.”
“This draft was meant to serve as an example of how the budget could be categorized, not as a finalized accounting of expenditures,” the city said. “Any discrepancies in that draft were unintentional.”
The city confirmed that the $28,049,075 figure is the official adopted budget for the current fiscal year, but did not provide additional comment regarding the difference in figures for the following fiscal year. The city said: “We apologize for any confusion this example draft of division-level reporting may have caused.”
A mid-cycle budget review is expected to include a more detailed breakdown and reconciliation of department expenses by division, city spokesperson Marisa Brown said in an email.
Police Department funding covers operational areas such as patrol and communications, along with special services including IMPACT and Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) detectives, traffic, code enforcement, and animal services. The IMPACT and POP teams are assigned to address ongoing crime and community concerns through efforts such as drug enforcement, homelessness response, and neighborhood safety initiatives.
As previously reported, the biennial budget report also included a request for an additional POP sergeant position. The role will be filled by reclassifying an existing police officer and will require approximately $37,000 in additional funding.
Administrative Services Director Susan Talwar said the upcoming mid-year review will provide updated figures on spending across departments. The city conducts both mid-year and annual reviews of the budget, which follows a fiscal year ending June 30.
