City Manager releases fiscal year 2014 budget

Today Sacramento City Manager John Shirey released the Fiscal Year 2013/14 Proposed Budget.

The proposed $372 million General Fund portion of the budget is balanced and addresses a projected $8.9 million shortfall. In order to close the shortfall, the City Manager is recommending the elimination 40 full-time employee positions resulting in $5 million in savings. All of the 40 positions are vacant and so no employees will have to be laid off. Twenty-nine are sworn police officer positions. 

“My preference is to close the budget gap without eliminating positions. These reductions would not be necessary if police officers, sergeants, and other small represented employee groups would agree to pay the employee’s share of pension costs – something that most City employees already do,” explained City Manager John Shirey. Fifty-nine percent of the City’s workforce already pays the employee share of CalPERS.

The City Manager’s Proposed Budget also includes a comprehensive six-year spending plan for Measure U resources to protect and restore priority programs and services in the Fire, Police, Parks and Recreation departments and Library. Thanks to the overwhelming passage of Measure U by 64 percent of voters last November, an additional $27 million per year is expected to be generated.