By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights Police Department is going through a “structural reorganization”, city officials confirmed this week.
The Police Department restructuring changes, approved by the Citrus Heights City Council, were within broader package proposed to the City Council Wednesday night that included new labor agreements and with police officer and police employee unions and increased compensation packages for unrepresented employees.
According to City Manager Ash Feeney, the restructuring of the Police Department is intended to offset much of the associated costs of the compensation plan agreements and preserve the city’s long-term financial stability.
“Municipal services is a people business; it’s about people delivering services on behalf of residents and businesses. Most of the budget is people,” Feeney said during Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, emphasizing that the city needs to stay competitive in the marketplace when it comes to employee compensation.
One of the most significant changes will be the elimination of the Traffic Unit. Four officers currently assigned to the Traffic Unit will be reassigned to patrol, filling four currently vacant patrol officer positions.
According to the report, patrol operations and criminal investigations represent core public safety functions, while traffic enforcement is considered an “enhanced level of service.” With personnel costs rising faster than available revenues, officials determined existing resources should instead be concentrated on patrol operations.
A police sergeant currently assigned to traffic will be reassigned to patrol through the end of the year. After that, one police sergeant position and one police lieutenant position will be eliminated through attrition, or future retirements, as future vacancies occur, avoiding layoffs of existing sworn personnel.
In an anonymous letter posted to several Citrus Heights social media groups, an individual who says they are directly impacted by the elimination of the Traffic Unit claimed the Police Department won’t be able to address citizen traffic complaints, and fatal traffic accident investigating will be more difficult.
Charles Stone spoke during the meeting Wednesday, voicing his opposition against cutting any officers from the department due to the high rate of violent crimes in the city. Feeney emphasized that no sworn officers are being cut through restructuring.
Another resident who spoke during the meeting said he has observed an increase in homelessness and retail theft and opposes any “defunding” of the police department.
Feeney emphasized that core services such as patrol officers and POP, or Problem-Oriented Policing, officers, are not being cut and those officers typically respond to issues related or associated with homelessness.
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Several non-sworn positions are also being affected, the staff report indicates, resulting in the elimination of three civilian positions.
One existing police services manager position will be reclassified as a police communications manager, while a community services officer position will be reclassified as a program technician.
Animal Services will transfer from the Police Department to the city’s General Services Department. The department was once under General Services in the past.
Animal rescuers with a local social media group, Citrus Heights Rescues Animals, praise the decision to move Animal Services to the General Services Department, saying when Animal Services was part of the department in the past, they were able to access grants and were better able to partner with local shelters and organizations to help trap, neuter, and release feral cats in Citrus Heights.
In total, the city expects to reduce nine full-time equivalent positions over the next two years, and several reductions will occur through attrition rather than actual layoffs.
According to the agenda report, the restructuring is expected to save $975,000 during the 2026-27 fiscal year and roughly $1.24 million the following year. Savings largely offset the estimated $1.11 million cost of the labor agreement compensation packages.
“We also need to thread that needle and make sure that we’re not having a structural deficit like so many other cities do, so we look at this in more of a long-range format,” Feeny said Wednesday, adding that many communities are struggling with structural budget deficits that have led to deferred maintenance, core service reductions, and other difficult decisions.
According to the staff report, Citrus Heights, like many California cities, is experiencing growing fiscal pressure as inflation, rising operating costs, and increasing demands for public services continue to outpace revenue growth. Sales tax revenues have consistently come in below earlier forecasts, property tax growth has remained relatively flat, and the city does not anticipate significant new revenue sources in the near future.
In a long-range-forecast mid-cycle budget review chart shared by city staff Wednesday night, the city explained revenues, such as sales tax and property taxes, have remained flat and not reached expected increases that were forecasted in the original budget established in June of 2025.
As part of negotiations, the city commissioned an independent compensation study comparing Citrus Heights with neighboring public agencies, with input from bargaining groups. While the study found the city remains generally competitive, officials recommend increasing employee compensation to keep salaries within 5 percent of the regional market median and to address rising health insurance costs.
“By proactively managing staffing levels through organizational restructuring and attrition,” the staff report states, “the City avoids a structural deficit, preserves financial flexibility, protects reserves, and strengthens its ability to respond to future community needs.”
The City Council voted unanimously to ratify Memorandum of Understandings agreed upon between the city and represented employees and amended salaries and health insurance compensation increases for unrepresented employees. The Citrus Heights Police Officers Association compensation contract expires June 30, 2028, while the Citrus Heights Police Employees Association contract and the unrepresented employees’ compensation plan will last through June 2030.
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