Santa Maria faces a $25 million budget deficit, prompting city leaders to implement nearly $17 million in budget changes, including a hiring freeze and project delays to avoid deeper cuts later.
The budget shortfall has grown significantly since the last budget cycle.
"At the last budget cycle, the city realized we were facing a multi-million dollar deficit, upwards of about $20 million," said Chuen Wu, City of Santa Maria Assistant City Manager. "During the mid-cycle budget, we realized that increase is a little bit more, $25 million. So there's certainly a sense of urgency in addressing the deficit."
The city's response centers on maintaining vacant positions and pausing several projects. Among the delayed initiatives is the expansion of Fire Station 1, which officials say affects future growth but not current emergency response capabilities.
"Our staffing model right now is at a level that I believe is at a minimum that we need to provide and continually provide for our residents of the City of Santa Maria," said Fire Chief Brad Dandridge.
Rather than cutting current staffing, the fire department agreed to postpone construction tied to long-term expansion plans designed to house additional personnel in the future.
"The best that we could do was to give up approximately $4 million in that budget for the Fire Station 1 expansion," Dandridge said.
Other postponed projects include pocket parks and Americans with Disabilities Act improvements, leaving residents waiting longer for anticipated upgrades.
"I think it would definitely help and benefit like to have more ramps or for wheelchairs, you know, people that have issues with walking and stuff," said Santa Maria resident Misty McGuire.
Felipe Martinez, another resident, expressed concern about the park delays, noting that if the city continues to grow, there should be more parks available.
City officials plan to continue monitoring revenues over the next few months and will revisit the budget during future reviews to assess whether additional measures are needed.
