Folsom mayor highlights budget strain, public-safety gains and major projects in State of the City

Mayor Sarah Aquino, speaking at a special meeting of the Folsom City Council, delivered the city’s State of the City and said the city faces a constrained budget and “1,000,000 of dollars in needed infrastructure improvements,” while reporting notable public-safety results and several large development and transportation projects moving forward.

Aquino said the city’s general fund is “approximately $115,000,000” and that about 60% of the revenue comes from property and sales taxes; she told the audience property-tax growth remains strong at about 7% per year while sales-tax growth has flattened to about 2% per year. She told residents the council is looking at short- and long-term solutions, including sale of surplus property and activation of underused commercial sites.

The mayor said the city’s public-safety work has produced measurable results. “Our public safety personnel continue to provide exceptional service and deliver extraordinary results despite budget challenges and staffing shortages,” Mayor Sarah Aquino said. She described a regional police operation called “Folsom Blues” that led to 19 arrests, seizure of suspected drug money, and removal of what she described as 170,000 potentially lethal doses of fentanyl; the city reported a 60% reduction in fentanyl deaths last year.

Aquino described the creation of a homeless outreach team (HOT)…