Vacaville City Council reviews cost cutting measures

The Vacaville City Council discussed the possibility of budget reductions for the upcoming fiscal year at Tuesday evening's meeting. City Manager Savita Chaudhary opened the item by reminding the council that current budget projections estimate the city's budget deficit next year will reach about $12 million.

"In response to the city's fiscal challenges, city leadership has taken a unified and very proactive approach to step forward and support the long-term financial stability while prioritizing the needs of the community," she said. "These actions also demonstrate our commitment to responsible governance and to make thoughtful decisions as we provide support for both our immediate needs and the long term sustainability and financial responsibility."

Staff outlined potential reductions of 2.5 percent and 5 percent. Finance Director Ken Matsumiya provided the presentation by reiterating that the city cannot fully close its $12 million budget gap next year without impacts to service levels and without reducing programs. However, the council was not asked to implement the changes for the upcoming budget, as Matsumiya said decision points will come later in the process.

Matsumiya began a department-by-department breakdown, starting with his own. Under a 2.5 percent reduction next year, the department would eliminate its non-full-time budget of $78,452 for Front Counter and Utility Billing coverage and its internships. It would also save $28,414 by reducing services and supplies by $32,195. A 5 percent reduction would see the department implement a hiring freeze or layoffs if the department has no vacancies. This could lead to reduced hours, delayed financial reporting or audit completion, and delayed payment processing.

The City Attorney's Office said a 2.5 percent reduction would be $67,760 for its department, cutting about $45,000 in legal services fees, $21,661 in training and $1000 in general supplies. A 5 percent reduction would see the department cut legal services by $42,000 and reduce training, supplies and software by $25,760.

The City Manager's office said a 2.5 percent reduction would be about $81,707, reducing professional services, consulting, technical services, repairs, training, travel and meals, professional memberships, general supplies, postage and software. Vacaville Neighborhood Associations would also see reduced funding.

"The City Manager's Office isn't able to get to 5 percent," Assistant City Manager Georgeanne Meggers-Smith. "When we are looking at how to get there, we really aren't expecting any staff vacancies; we are really looking into going into those line items and ripping out anything that isn't exactly essential.

For the Information Technology department, Meggers-Smith said, a 2.5 percent reduction would amount to $84,929 in reduced consulting, mailing, professional memberships, general supplies, postage, software and small tools. A 5 percent reduction would "severely limit access to external subject matter experts," she said.

A 2.5 percent reduction for the Human Resources Department would mean the elimination of one full-time office assistant position at $82,961 and about $7000 in citywide training reductions. A 5 percent reduction would lead to larger cuts in training, a reduction to the legal services budget, and reductions in training and travel.

For the Department of Parks and Recreation, a 2.5 percent cut would amount to about $239,876 in reductions of non-full-time hours, the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre and general supplies and services. To get to 5 percent, the department proposed cutting the city's Fourth of July Fireworks Show, youth scholarship program and two concessions stands.

The Housing and Community Services Department carries a budget of about $31.5 million, of which only $200,000 or 1 percent, is supported by the general fund, Director Tamara Colden said. The department is already at 5 percent cost reduction. Cuts at the federal level could lead to further cuts to the department's budget.

The Community and Economic Development department would achieve a 2.5 percent reduction by cutting $136,763 in outside service contracts. A 5 percent reduction would see a further $133,000 of those cuts and the elimination of funding for the Planning Commissioner's Academy Training Program. Staff also noted that the department's revenues are mainly fee-based, unlike the General Fund, making them closely tied to development activity.

The Public Works department would see a reduction of $339,977 under a 2.5 percent cut, freezing Public Works Manager and Maintenance Worker vacancies and cutting the maintenance of future phases of Play 4 All park. A 5 percent reduction would see the department freeze more positions, reduce parks beautification funding, reduce downtown pressure washing and eliminate its engineering internships.

The Fire Department would reduce daily minimum staffing by two employees by browning out its Medic 72 vehicle. A 5 percent reduction would see cross-staffing for another ambulance and eliminate two Code Compliance Technician positions.

Vacaville Police Chief Chris Polen presented the 2.5 percent reduction strategy for his department, which would save $1,381,444 by dissolving the Community Response Unit and freezing or eliminating eight full-time positions.

"Every single day we are down 20 people," Polen said of the department's current situation. "That is a significant staffing shortage for our department and for months we have been going through backfill of overtime for our core function, which is patrol."

The city has allocated $1.6 million for overtime funding for the department, but Polen said the department is trending closer to $2.5 million by the end of this fiscal year. Polen said the department chose not to cut training to avoid potential litigation as a back-end result, which he said would cost the city millions.

A 5 percent reduction for the Vacaville Police Department would see six police officer positions, four "over-hire" positions, one community service officer position, one office assistant position, one mental health coordinator position and one public safety dispatcher position eliminated. Service reductions would include special event overtime, Family Resource Center basic needs funding, homeless outreach, homeless temporary assistance and homeless shelter beds through Shelter Solano. The 5 percent reduction would see the permanent dissolution of CRU.

Polen said staff have begun to worry about layoffs.

"You should have seen their faces," he said of the Community Response Unit when he told them they were being dissolved. "You have officers who truly enjoy their work. They have this mission, they have this belief in what they are doing."

Vice Mayor Mike Silva asked Polen why CRU would be dissolved before the end of the fiscal year, which Polen said was partially due to how far over budget the department's overtime is this year. Silva expressed concern that hiring for more positions could lead the department's budgets to continue to swell.

"I haven't been fully staffed since 2017-2018," Polen said. "So we have been operating like this for quite some time."

However, vacancies in the Police Department are expected by the city, Chaudhary said the city actually assumes a 6 to 7 percent vacancy rate for that department. Silva then noted that the council has already raised police pay and benefits in recent years.

Councilmember Jeanette Wylie said the figures in the report were "sobering." She noted that higher salaries have also led to higher overtime costs. She also asked how many injured officers were working light duty, which Polen confirmed all but one were doing. The Fire Department said all but one of their injured members are also working light duty while injured.

"It's so much for the police and fire because your budget is so much bigger," she said.

While curtailing government spending was one of his central campaign issues, Councilmember Ted Fremouw said he now believes he was wrong at the time.

"I thought that the city could do more with less or better with less," he said. "I was mistaken."

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