City Budget Woes

It’s crunch time again and the City of Sacramento is now seeking public input on the upcoming 2011-2012 budget with an online survey. The City is also hosting a community Budget Open House at City Hall on Saturday, April 9. Attendees are invited to stop by anytime between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to learn about the City’s budget and provide input on budget priorities and solutions. Results from the survey will be presented to the City Council in early May as part of the proposed budget process.

The open house will take place in the New City Hall lobby at 915 I Street in downtown Sacramento.

Sacramento is suffering from the prolonged economic recession. As a result, the City is anticipating a budget deficit of $35 to $40 million. This projected shortfall represents the need to reduce the $237 million net General Fund operating costs by nearly 20 percent. Although the City has initiated several budget-saving strategies over the last several years, next fiscal year’s budget will represent the fifth consecutive year of budget reductions because expenditures are growing at a faster rate than available revenues to pay for those services.

An online “Budget Input Survey” has been posted to the City’s web page, http://www.cityofsacramento.org/, and will be open through April 23. For more information about the city budget, download the Budget 101 fact sheet.