Yucaipa council adopts continuing resolution to delay final budget as debate over paramedic squad and Measure S intensifies

The Yucaipa City Council on June 22 adopted a continuing resolution to carry forward appropriations and postpone final adoption of the fiscal year 2026–27 operating and capital budget to the council’s next regular meeting, giving staff and members more time to review details.

The move followed a nearly three-hour discussion in which councilmembers pressed staff for more information about a proposed paramedic squad, Measure S sales-tax allocations and long-term road maintenance needs. Staff presented a proposed general fund of roughly $46.6 million for FY 2026–27 and said the budget as drafted is balanced, but council members expressed concern about structural pressure on public-safety and pavement accounts.

“I'm going to make a motion that we adopt a continuing resolution for the operating budget and CIP programs,” Councilmember Woolsey said, explaining the resolution would preserve monthly appropriations at prior-year levels and allow the council time for follow-up questions. City staff confirmed the mechanism would keep government services running while delaying formal adoption of the new budget.

Council members focused on the paramedic squad proposal, which staff said would add personnel, vehicles and equipment. Finance staff initially referenced a $1 million line in the proposed budget for the squad; city management later said the fully loaded, first-year cost was roughly $1.4 million when equipment and all associated expenses were included. “The cost that we have in the budget right now is $1 million,” Finance Director Harant Manuelian said. City Manager Dr. Moore and the fire chief said earlier procurement rollovers and internal freezes had been used to partly offset initial year costs.

Measure S — the city’s voter-approved, unrestricted sales-tax measure — was another flashpoint. Staff presented an allocation plan that budgets about $9 million from Measure S for 2026–27, split across public safety, public works, community services and other programs. Several councilmembers said they want clearer, binding direction from the council or from voters about whether Measure S should be treated principally as a public-safety funding source or as a general-purpose revenue stream.

“If that was to underperform in any year and we tie that to ongoing expenses, we could be in a problem,” one councilmember said, urging the council to clarify long-term priorities for the revenue stream before committing it to recurring operating costs.

Roads also drew sustained attention. Staff said Yucaipa’s pavement condition index (PCI) is in the high‑50s and that to reach a national-average PCI (roughly the low‑60s) the city would need an estimated $6–8 million per year for several years. Council members repeatedly emphasized that the current plan — roughly $3.5–4 million programmed for road maintenance in the draft budget — would only slow deterioration rather than restore the network to the target condition.

After extended questions and staff commitments to return with more details on long-term fire-fund projections, Measure S scenarios and pavement-management alternatives, the council voted to adopt the continuing resolution and to approve several budget-related policies (fund balance, investment policy, appropriations limit and others) so those governance items would be in place while the main budget is finalized.

Next steps: staff will return with more detailed financial projections, proposed reallocations of one-time funds, and further breakdowns of Measure S programming before the council takes a final vote on the FY 2026–27 budget.