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 existing positions are removed in one department and added in another. New or newly funded positions named in the presentation include a deputy fire marshal; a management analyst; an administrative analyst; a community outreach specialist; a full-time senior planner (converting a current half-FTE to full time); and various planning and permit center positions (plan checker, supervising plan checker, permit clerk, permit technician). Andrews said some roles (administrative analyst and community outreach specialist) are included in the proposed budget but were not yet reflected as ongoing positions in the materials shown.

Public works staff described the capital project phasing. The $2,000,000 added for Buranda Road is intended to fund the design phase of “phase 2a,” which begins where phase 1 ends just east of McKinnon Avenue. Public works said the Abbot Street allocation would allow the city to do “a little bit more” of Abbot Street in year 2 of the pavement program; exact scope will depend on design findings and pavement condition, the department said. Staff emphasized that final scope and quantities (for sidewalks, ramps and curb/driveway work) will be determined after design and cost estimates are completed.

Code enforcement and rental assistance

The proposed operating budget includes a $50,000 increase in non-salary capacity for code enforcement (bringing one line item to $335,000) and a rental assistance budget increased to $500,000 total. City planning and code enforcement staff said they currently have two code-enforcement vacancies, are finalizing a revised job description for a flexible Code 2/1 classification, and continue to rely on an outside consultant (Willdan) for evening and weekend coverage. The budget includes $35,000 for overtime and about $300,000 for contract services to support unpermitted-vendor enforcement during evenings and weekends.

Public safety and equipment timing

The fire chief said an added prevention position will help restart a paused business-inspection program and support the community risk reduction plan; he and finance staff said long lead times for large apparatus (now as long as four to five years in some cases) make multi-year procurement and financing planning necessary. Police staffing numbers in the presentation showed 157 authorized officers on the budget (four frozen), 133 sworn personnel currently on staff, 11 recruits currently in academy training and 13 vacancies.

Parks and maintenance

Parks staff said the proposed budget includes roughly $93,000 in additional park maintenance funding, combining supply money and an expanded contract for mowing/landscaping (the presentation referenced adding Ensign as a contractor). Staff noted the city’s acres-per-FTE ratio is higher than national standards (presentation cited the national standard as 10 acres per FTE; the city is roughly 15–16 acres per FTE) and that new parks coming online (an Ensign neighborhood park ~6–7 acres and another roughly 67 acres expected next year) will increase maintenance needs. Larger park construction projects (for example, a full restroom replacement at Hebron Heights) would require separate planning and funding and are not included in the current proposed budget.

Public comment and next steps

A resident speaker raised concerns about underused parks across Salinas and asked whether consolidation or different management could increase weekday use; staff said they are developing a proactive plan to address benches and minor repairs and that larger projects require separate project funding and planning. Committee members asked staff to provide clearer communications about what the added dollars will buy (lane miles, sidewalk linear feet, ramps), to deliver project-by-project scope once design estimates are complete, and to return with hiring timelines as recruitments proceed.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve the consent agenda: moved by the meeting chair (noted in the transcript as the person who said, “I will take a walk on the wild side and I’ll move to approve the consent agenda”), second not named. Council member de Arrigo recorded as voting yes; Mayor Donahue also recorded as voting yes. The motion passed (full roll call not recorded in the transcript).

What’s next: staff will present the formal proposed FY25–26 budget to the full City Council at a June 17 meeting; the committee will revisit details and provide input as recruitments and project designs proceed.