Yuba City Council adopts midyear budget reduction measures, including park maintenance cuts and reduced public‑counter hours

City staff presented a package of proposed midyear reduction measures to address a projected fiscal shortfall; the council voted to adopt a resolution approving the package.

Presenter Miss Langley described measures developed after a January 29 workshop. The reductions target non‑public‑safety general‑fund positions, reductions in extra‑help and contracted services, and service‑level changes the public will notice. The recommendations include closing City Hall and the GAP (Gaucher Aquatic Park) to public counter service on Fridays (staff remain on duty but counters will be closed to drop‑in public service), changes to police front-counter hours, and reduced park maintenance frequencies (mowing every other week rather than weekly), among other items.

Department‑level highlights cited by staff included: freezing a recreation coordinator position (estimated annual salary savings $68,000); downgrading or underfilling a recreation supervisor position ($50,000); freezing a parks maintenance worker 3 ($106,000); freezing a plans examiner position in development services ($112,000); and proposals in public safety including freezing up to four sworn police officer positions (staff indicated they currently had five vacancies and planned to fill one) and holding several public‑safety support positions vacant. In fire services staff recommended freezing a fire inspector position (savings cited ~$142,000) and freezing a fire marshal position (savings cited ~$227,000) with caveats that some duties would be shifted to other personnel or contracted services where allowed.

Langley said if all the frozen positions on the list were in place for a full year they would equate to about $2.4 million; because vacancies have existed for varying lengths of time, staff estimated about $1.2 million of salary savings would be realized for the remainder of the current fiscal year. She noted some measures will require meet‑and‑confer with employee bargaining units and others could reduce services the public receives.

The measures for community services include fewer weekend custodial/park preparation activities, reduced extra‑help in recreation and parks, a shift to a digital recreation guide only (saving ~ $15,000), cancellation of city‑funded “concerts in the park” ($5,500) unless alternative sponsorship is found, and possibly higher assessments or reduced services for some Landscape and Lighting Maintenance Districts if contract work is shifted.

For the police department staff said certain low‑priority calls would be routed to online reporting, animal problems would be handled only when active/aggressive, non‑injury collisions would not receive on‑scene responses unless the roadway is blocked, and the department would intend to maintain a minimum of 12 dispatch positions (staff noted some dispatchers are currently in training and that full staffing is a multi‑month effort). The council heard concerns from members about public expectations for park upkeep and about the operational risk in public safety if vacancies are not backfilled promptly.

During public comment Manny Cardoza urged the council to protect parks, warning reduced maintenance would deter prospective residents and degrade quality of life. Several council members acknowledged the difficulty of the choices and urged residents to be patient as temporary measures are implemented. The resolution was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote.

Staff said they will choose an implementation schedule that allows time for public notice and that many measures will carry into next fiscal year’s budget deliberations. Several items related to revenue increases (for example, implementation of credit‑card service fees to customers or updating planning fees) were identified as topics for the council’s revenue ad hoc committee and would return to council for formal action before implementation.

The council recorded no roll‑call vote totals in the transcript; the measure passed on a voice vote.