City Works To Address $66 Million Budget Deficit

By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer Mayor Darrell Steinberg speaks at the May 21 City Council meeting. In a letter released Monday, Steinberg lobbied for often neglected neighborhoods to keep their funding so that cuts and fee increases are not experienced “disproportionately and unfairly by people in communities who too often have been left behind.” Robert J. Hansen, OBSERVER The City Council at its Tuesday meeting continued discussion of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-25 as it tries to address a $66 million deficit. City Manager Howard Chan at the end of April released the proposed budget of approximately $1.6 billion for operations and capital improvements. The budget addresses the city’s projected $66 million deficit through a combination of strategies, including revenue enhancements, prior-year savings, and expenditure reductions that largely eliminate vacancies and have a low or moderate impact on residents and communities. It supports 5,029 full-time positions and eliminates no filled positions. The plan in the proposed budget eliminates about 44 vacant full-time jobs. “It has always been my goal to balance the budget by making strategic decisions instead of across-the-board cuts and to minimize – to the greatest extent possible – any impacts to core...