Parlier council adopts 2025–26 budget; debate centers on ARPA transfers and police spending

The Parlier City Council voted 4–0 (one member absent) on Aug. 7 to adopt the city’s fiscal year 2025–26 operating and capital budget, after an extended public and council discussion about the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and rising police-department costs.

Myra, the city’s finance staff who presented the budget, said the adopted plan reflects a number of changes since the council’s earlier workshop. She told the council that “now that we’re going to be transferring over the funds from the ARPA into here, instead of being at a deficit, we’re actually going to end at a surplus of $530,000.”

Multiple council members pressed staff about the ARPA transfer and whether moving one-time federal funds into the general fund complied with federal rules and long-term fiscal strategy. One council member said she had reviewed ARPA guidelines and worried that transferring approximately $1.9 million from ARPA to cover a prior-year deficit of about $700,000 would not match the federal program’s intended uses; she urged channeling more ARPA resources into community capital projects such as downtown improvements instead of filling a general-fund shortfall.

Council members also questioned the police department budget, which staff said rose to roughly $3.8 million for the coming year from about $2.8 million in the prior estimate; staff said much of the change was the correction of prior-year underestimates and increased salary and special-pay costs. Myra said the department’s total wages and benefits make up a substantial portion of the PD budget and that “majority of the increase or the discrepancy … was mainly [in] the salaries.” Council members asked for more detailed documentation about the figures and for a midyear report explaining where earlier estimates diverged from actual spending.

Councilmember Diego Garzett made the motion to adopt the budget, seconded by Councilmember Catherine Salorio (first reference: Councilmember Catherine Salorio). The motion passed 4–0 with one absence.

Speakers from the public expressed concern that one-time federal funds should prioritize long-term community investments and oversight, and urged audits of revenue streams tied to cannabis businesses. City staff said they expected to solicit an audit proposal for the city’s cannabis revenues and confirmed they would verify grant- and vehicle-related policies discussed during the hearing.

The budget ordinance and supporting documents adopted Aug. 7 will appear in the city’s official records. Staff said they will bring requested clarifications — including a midyear reconciliation of police-department spending and documentation of ARPA eligibility considerations — to the council in a future report.