Lompoc City Council members passed a budget Monday night that includes more than $3 million worth of cuts.
The decision made during the budget workshop means the City will continue to freeze positions at the police department, cutting $700,000 of overtime for the fire department, losing a battalion chief and cutting parts of city staff like the Planning Department and Code Enforcement.
The cuts will still leave the City in a deficit and in need of other revenue streams to prevent the deficit from growing.
Lompoc Community Relations Manager/Public Information Officer Samantha Scroggin, whose job is also being cut under the new budget, says at the beginning of Monday night’s meeting, Councilmember Dirk Starbuck gave a presentation for a 1 percent sales tax in the City that would sunset after 15 years. City staff will come back at a later date for a presentation on the sales tax proposal.
The Chamber of Commerce is hoping a sales tax measure will eventually be passed.
Scroggin says the City will work to keep some positions in place during the transition period while possibly reassigning others.
