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The city of Pleasanton has recently launched a “Budget Engagement Tool”, which is open to the public until March 24, where residents can weigh in on upcoming budget cuts.
The new online tool, according to a press release from the city, will allow community members to provide input on budget adjustments the city will need to make in order to reach its target of roughly $10 million in budget reductions.
“Community engagement sets the foundation of a transparent and effective budget process. By involving our residents and businesses, we ensure that our financial decisions reflect the ideas and interests of the people we serve,” City Manager Gerry Beaudin said in the press release. “This new online tool provides another opportunity for the community to participate in the budget process and offer valuable feedback.”
Pleasanton is currently developing its two-year budget for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal year, while also dealing with a structural deficit projected to average approximately $13 million every year over the next decade — staff have said the deficit could go up to $22 million if the country enters into a recession.
Last year, the previous City Council placed Measure PP — a half-cent sales tax increase revenue measure — on the November ballot in hopes residents would pass the measure, which staff said would have generated about $10 million in revenue each year. But after Measure PP failed, staff have had to shift gears in order to address the deficit.
To that end, the city has identified a “need for approximately $10 million in ongoing General Fund reductions in each of the next two fiscal years”, Beaudin said in a memorandum ahead of this week’s Budget Advisory Committee meeting.
That’s why the city is looking for input to help cut $7 million remaining from the overall $10 million annual budget deficit — $3 million in internal cuts have already been identified, according to the city.
“These reduction options include service reductions proposals across every city department, as well as $3.3 million in internal operational reductions,” Beaudin said in his staff report ahead of this Thursday’s BAC meeting.
Beaudin said staff have already identified $14.7 million in potential reductions across all city departments, which he said could go into effect in the next fiscal year.
But those reductions are not set in stone, which is why the city is still seeking out public input before finalizing their list of reduction recommendations to the council.
During its budget development process, the city has taken several steps to provide transparency and encourage community participation. These steps included conducting an independent financial assessment of the city’s forecast.
The independent financial assessment, conducted by certified public accounting firm Eide Bailly, validated the methodology used to develop the city’s financial forecast and confirmed the city’s projected structural budget deficit.
The city also recently spoke with an actuarial firm to “make recommendations related to potential strategies, risks, and benefits for utilizing pension trust funds,” which resulted in the City Council majority expressing support for withdrawing approximately $2 million in one-time pension trust fund dollars to help address the budget deficit over the next two fiscal years during its March 4 meeting.
In regards to community engagement, the city held a “Budget Town Hall” meeting last month to discuss financial challenges and possible solutions with residents. Community members are being encouraged to review the materials from the town hall and other materials outlining potential budget reductions before providing additional input into the online budget engagement tool.
The BAC previously met in February to review the list, rank the different reductions based on impact to the community and share preliminary feedback.
Now, the BAC is being asked to review the 28 proposed reductions and confirm its recommendations to the council — the goal is to present the list of proposed reductions to the council along with the draft of the budget in May, Beaudin said in his memorandum.
According to the memo, the top three categories listed in the proposed 28 budget reductions were in internal services and operational support — parks, streets, library, recreation, police and fire were all categories ranked toward the end of the list.
Residents should voice their opinions on these reductions. Most of them should not be presented as all or nothing recommendations. Most can be approached a partial cutbacks. IE don’t close library 2 days a week, shift work to senior volunteers to reduce expenses, open one hour later and close one hour earlier, 1/2 days Sat and Sun. So many alternatives to complete closure for 2 days.