Salinas finance committee reviews $285 million proposed FY25–26 budget, adds CIP funding and staffing requests

Salinas Finance Committee members received an update on the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 operating and capital budget on June 10, including proposed capital investment increases, new and reclassified staff positions and targeted operating increases for code enforcement and rental assistance.

The update, presented by Finance Director Selena Andrews, said the proposed city budget increased to about $285,000,000 after adding both operating and capital investments and will be presented to the full City Council on June 17. The presentation listed new positions and “add/delete” staffing changes, and proposed increases to several capital projects: sidewalks and street repairs (+$2,000,000 to a total of $11,300,000), traffic calming (+$300,000 to $500,000), Buranda Road congestion-relief (add $2,000,000 to $2,900,000) and a new Abbot Street project ($4,000,000 recommended). Andrews said the staff report and revised charts will be updated to reflect an additional $8,000,000 of CIP investments.

Why it matters: committee members pressed staff for clearer public messaging about what the additional dollars will produce, and for timelines for hiring and project design. Several members said residents expect concrete answers on what repairs and projects the budget will fund.

Staff and department comments

Andrews outlined proposed position changes and additions, described as a mix of new hires, previously frozen positions recommended for unfreezing, and add-delete swaps where…