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Lompoc City Council passes budget with $3 million+ in cuts

Posted at 9:15 PM, Jun 24, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-25 06:09:22-04

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.