Santa Rosa presents $6.7 million general-fund shortfall; council weighs station closure, staff cuts and program reductions

Santa Rosa finance staff told the City Council on May 6 that the city’s proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget shows $217.5 million in revenues and $224.2 million in expenditures and transfers, leaving a $6,700,000 general-fund gap for the coming year. City presenters said the draft already includes reductions that the council directed at a prior April study meeting, but that additional options remain to close the deficit.

The proposal and council discussion focused on a mix of built-in cuts and additional considerations. Built into the draft were staff reductions, contract adjustments and a placeholder for furlough savings. Staff said the package in the draft reduces general-fund staffing by 58.9 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and that, citywide after adding those positions funded by Measure H (see below), the net is a reduction of 38.9 positions. Of the 58.9 general-fund reductions, staff said 25 are sworn public-safety positions (12 fire, 9 police and others) and 33.9 are civilian positions. The draft also includes a $1.4 million pseudoline item for possible furlough savings that staff described as negotiable and uncertain.

Why it matters: the general fund is Santa Rosa’s primary operating account for police, fire, administration, parks and many community programs. The council must adopt a budget consistent with the city charter by June 1; staff asked for direction so the draft can be finalized for publication.

Key numbers and context - Draft FY25–26 resources (all funds): $517.7 million (citywide). - Proposed general-fund revenues: $217.5 million; proposed general-fund expenditures and transfers: $224.2 million; resulting deficit: $6.7 million. - Staffing reductions in the general fund: 58.9 FTEs (14 of those were acted on at midyear; 21 of the 58.9 positions are currently filled). Staff said these reductions translate to a citywide net loss of 38.9 positions after adding 20 Measure H positions funded by the new sales tax measure. - Public-safety share: police and fire account for about 63.8% of general-fund expenditures; salaries and benefits are roughly 77% of the general fund. - Reserves: staff reported reserves declined from roughly $88 million at the end of FY2023 to about $68 million at the end of FY2024.

Public-safety tradeoffs: blackout versus brownout A central, contested element of staff’s reduction package is a planned ‘‘blackout’’ of a fire company. Staff said the $6.7 million deficit in the draft includes closing (blackout) one fire company/station; staff presented a lower-cost alternative described as a ‘‘brownout’’. - Staff built $3,582,000 of savings from a station/company blackout into the draft. Staff said a brownout instead would produce about $950,000 of savings; that difference would increase the projected general-fund deficit unless other reductions are substituted. - SAFER grant risk: staff and the fire chief warned that a blackout could jeopardize the SAFER grant that funds 12 personnel assigned to advanced-life-support squads. Chief Scott Westro said the SAFER award is federal and tied to minimum staffing levels; losing a company could require negotiating waivers with FEMA and put the squads at risk. - Response-time impacts: the fire chief summarized an internal analysis showing systemwide effects if a company closes. He noted a long-term decline in meeting the council’s 5-minute response goal (e.g., compliance fell from ~76.5% in 2014 to ~60.8% in 2024) and estimated that a company closure would increase medicial/emergency response times on the order of roughly 8–10% and create a wider, citywide ‘‘domino’’ effect.

Police staffing and operations Police Chief John Cregan and staff described likely programmatic impacts of staffing reductions included in the draft. The department reported current sworn staffing near mid-80s and said the cuts shown would move staffing back toward historic lows (one staff chart in the meeting…