Residents urge council to retain animal control, parking enforcement positions during budget review

Multiple residents addressed the council during public comment to urge officials not to eliminate animal-control and parking-enforcement positions that city staff had identified as potential cuts in a police-department budget recommendation.

One resident who identified herself as Lady (first name only in the record) described 20 years of experience working with the department and asked the council to consider the wider community impact of removing those functions. She said the positions “are not just numbers in a spreadsheet; they affect real people, services and the quality of life in our community” and specifically named three employees she said should be retained.

Doreen Perez spoke on behalf of George Welch, the city’s parking-enforcement officer, saying Welch has more than 25 years of service and is the city’s only person in that role. Perez warned that eliminating parking enforcement would leave abandoned and illegally parked vehicles unchecked, could harm storefront businesses, reduce city revenue and draw police officers away from urgent calls.

Other public commenters thanked the council for street-safety improvements and raised unrelated items, but the record shows consistent resident requests that council and staff explore alternatives to cutting these positions and to prioritize other budget adjustments before eliminating the enforcement roles.

There was no formal council action during public comment; council members heard the appeals and staff noted that the 2026 budget will include recommended cuts and personnel decisions as part of broader measures to balance the budget.