City Manager Maraskeshia Smith released her proposed $1.7 billion budget Wednesday, outlining what officials called difficult but necessary steps to address deficit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento plans to cut 46 filled positions and eliminate nearly 100 vacant jobs as city leaders work to close a $66.2 million budget gap in the upcoming fiscal year.
City Manager Maraskeshia Smith released her proposed $1.7 billion budget Wednesday, outlining what officials called difficult but necessary steps to address a structural deficit caused by expenses outpacing revenues rather than an economic downturn.
The proposal could result in layoffs at City Hall, though city leaders said not all employees in the eliminated positions would lose their jobs. Some could be moved into other open roles. The city says police officers and firefighters would not be laid off under the current proposal.
Smith said the plan is focused on long-term financial stability rather than temporary fixes.
“This proposed budget reflects months of work to address a structural deficit that cannot be solved with one-time fixes,” Smith said in a news release. “It makes difficult but necessary decisions to align our ongoing costs with available revenues, while continuing to deliver core services and strengthen the City’s long-term financial stability.”
Mayor Kevin McCarty said balancing the 2026-27 budget will require difficult decisions, but said the goal is to protect neighborhoods, city services and employees as much as possible.
“To balance our 2026/2027 Budget, we will have to make tough choices, but through the hard work of our staff, the thoughtful direction of Council, and City Manager Maraskeshia Smith’s leadership, we have found solutions that have the least impact to our neighborhoods, city services, and employees,” McCarty said in a statement.
Council Member Roger Dickinson said the proposed budget was not a surprise.
“I think the budget process this year has been an improvement over last year in fact,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson said he is hopeful layoffs can still be avoided by shifting employees into retained vacant positions and through retirements or employees leaving for other jobs.
“Still very hopeful that we won’t actually end up with any layoffs, but at least we can work very hard to minimize them if they do occur,” Dickinson said.
He said he also wants to protect funding for a community prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, along with youth services, gun violence prevention, parks and open spaces, especially in North Sacramento.
“To making sure that we are offering as much as we can in the way of services to young people and maintaining our parks and our open spaces such as the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail,” Dickinson said.
Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum said the proposed cuts are significant, but he believes the city should consider going further now to avoid returning next year with another major shortfall.
He said the city could face another $30 million to $40 million in cuts next year without additional action and warned that repeated uncertainty hurts employee retention and morale.
“My preference is to plan for the worst and then hope for the best. If that happy day comes, we can build back. But right now, we have every reason to believe future years are also pretty dire,” Pluckebaum said.
He acknowledged deeper cuts would have real human consequences.
“Yeah, ripping band-aids hurts. We are not insensitive to the real human cost,” Pluckebaum said. “My hope is that the council will be willing to be courageous and make those cuts now and just get it over with.”
Councilmember Lisa Kaplan said her priorities remain public safety, parks and economic development, but she is strongly opposed to changes in funding for the Office of Violence Prevention.
“I am not supportive of switching funding for the office of violence prevention,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said the city should not continue relying on one-year budget approvals that lead to repeated structural deficits.
“I think it’s ridiculous that we as a council only approve a one-year budget because every year we approve it and then we are in a structural deficit and that’s not fair to our employees and our programs,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan and Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes are also pushing to restore school resource officers at Natomas schools. Kaplan, a former Natomas school board member, said the issue became even more urgent after the recent campus shooting.
“In my entire time, we did not have a shooting where student died on campus, within 6 months of the SRO contract being pulled, you see that. Our officers are valuable on our campuses for keeping students and communities safe,” Kaplan said.
So far, the proposed budget is not considering parking rate increases or charging residents for residential parking permits, though that could change during the budget process.
The proposal now heads to the City Council, where members will spend the next several weeks deciding what stays, what gets cut and where they want to fight for funding before the final vote in June.
The fiscal year begins July 1, and the budget must be passed by June 9.
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