Sacramento proposes cutting 46 filled positions to balance $66M budget deficit

The Sacramento City Council could cut 46 filled positions and slash nearly 100 vacant jobs to balance a $1.7 billion budget, according to a proposal released Wednesday. A round of layoffs could hit City Hall for the first time in more than a decade.

Each of the city’s departments scrutinized its spending to find cost-savings as the city faced a budget gap for the third consecutive year. The City Council for months has heard proposals to trim spending and close a $66.2 million budget deficit.

City Manager Maraskeshia Smith listened to those strategies and released her recommendations Wednesday for the City Council to consider for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Not all the 46 employees in the cut positions would get pink slips. Some employees could be transferred to different roles, according to the city. The city is also contemplating axing more than 94 vacant jobs.

The city opted to forgo raising parking fees after two years of increases. Smith also chose to keep a beloved Law Academy program that Hiram Johnson High School that students pleaded for at a council meeting.

Parks maintenance workers — once considered for layoffs — were also spared, according to the city’s news release.

But the City Council can choose from other programming cuts to select from. Here are some of them:

• Halt a contract to use the SpidrTech program, a text and email service for officers to chat with victims.
• Cut the police’s mounted unit program, in which officers patrol Sacramento on horses.
• Refrain from filling an assistant director position in the Office of Public Safety Accountability, the agency that serves as the watchdog for the Sacramento Police Department.
• Cut two filled positions in the Office of Public Safety Accountability.
• Discontinue using the ShotSpotter gunfire detection technology in some parts of the city.
• Reduce fee discounts to access community centers and clubhouses.
• Reduce after school programs at community centers.
• Close all four wading pools by eliminating vacant lifeguard positions.
• Reduce swimming pool operations to three days per week.

No police officers and firefighters would be laid off, according to the budget.

Why is the city in a budget deficit?

The deficit stems from expenses outgrowing revenues, rather than an economic downturn. The city’s last layoffs occurred in the Great Recession, which began in 2007.

According to the budget proposal, the budget deficit was created in part by increased labor costs from new hires and expanded services — including its efforts to address homelessness. Ballot measures have also introduced increased expenses.

The city has also been negotiating contracts with 11 employee unions. Increases in labor expenses have led to $11.3 million in additional spending.

The city has also not finished its negotiations with every union, such as the Sacramento Police Officers Association. The total compensation for employees has not been finalized, and could grow Sacramento’s budget deficit.

Sacramento’s fiscal challenges are also affected by the economic outlook of the country. The Iran conflict has increased energy prices, which could lead to a sluggish economic growth. A recession is possible, according to the city.

The budget is scheduled to be adopted June 9.

This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 3:43 PM.