After several months of meetings and contentious conversations, Lompoc City Council approved the city’s 2019-21 biennial budget, which includes numerous cuts to cover a more than $3 million deficit.
Throughout this budget process, a debate has centered on whether the city should cover this deficit through a sales tax increase or by cutting expenses. City staff and many residents recommended holding an election for a sales tax increase, but the majority of City Council preferred to balance the budget with reductions.
Mayor Jenelle Osborne was the only council member to vote against the budget at the June 24 meeting, because she didn’t approve of where the cuts were taking place.
“I was the lone vote against it because I don’t support the cuts to public safety and economic development and community development,” Osborne told the Sun.
The budget eliminates two planning positions, two code enforcement positions, one battalion chief position in the fire department, two office assistant positions, and turning the city’s public information officer into a grant writer.
According to a staff report from the meeting, the budget also includes a $600,000 reduction in the fire department’s overtime allocation and calls for three vacant police officer positions to be held open, which was first agreed upon during the previous budget cycle.
Osborne said that an amendment approved with the budget provides City Manager Jim Throop the ability to work with employees whose jobs are being eliminated to determine if they can move into other positions within the city that are vacant.
Despite these cuts, the city’s projected expenses for fiscal years 2019-21 were still higher than the city’s projected revenue by $300,000, Osborne said. The city is covering this gap by pulling money from its general fund reserves, which are already lower than appropriate, according to city policy.
“City policy says that we should have 25 percent of operational expenses [in our reserves], which is $8 million and we are at $2 million,” Osborne said.
Although the budget wasn’t approved with projected revenue from a sales tax increase, the conversation around a potential sales tax ballot measure moved forward at the meeting.
Councilmember Dirk Starbuck proposed the city look into holding a special election for a 1 percent sales tax increase with 75 percent of the revenue generated dedicated to the city’s pension obligations, which is the primary source of the city’s financial issues. The remaining 25 percent would be dedicated to the city’s general fund, which includes public safety, parks, and other departments.
The City Council unanimously approved a motion requesting city staff to create a report to present to council at a future meeting based on Starbuck’s proposal. Osborne said the special tax measure would require about 67 percent of voters to approve it; whereas a general sales tax measure would only require a majority.
The staff report will also include details on prospective dates for a sales tax election. Osborne said council would need to approve the measure by August to hold an election in November. Otherwise the city could place a measure on the ballot for elections in March or November 2020.
—Zac Ezzone
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2019.