Posts tagged deficit
Santa Ana Councilman Calls on State Attorney General to Probe Police Union Spending
October 6, 2025 // Santa Ana City Councilman Ben Vazquez is calling on the State’s Attorney General Rob Bonta to thoroughly probe how Santa Ana’s police union spent taxpayer dollars over the last decade to see if there has been any misuse of public dollars. It comes as the city’s police department faced a host of accountability questions this past summer and as city officials brace for an expected deficit in a couple years that city staff project will be tens of millions of dollars deep. Vazquez says he is requesting the investigation after a city audit found officials overpaid $3.4 million for officers’ health benefit plans in 2023 despite the union’s health benefits account operating at over $608,000 deficit.
San Francisco set to approve millions in raises while facing deficit
January 5, 2024 // The San Francisco Unified School District is set to approve raises for its non-unionized employees amidst projected deficits of hundreds of millions of dollars for the upcoming fiscal years. The school district in December announced it had approved "historic" raises for its unionized employees. Now, the school board has been recommended it approve the same raises for its non-unionized employees at its Jan. 9 board meeting, according to reports. The across-the-board raises for all employees are budgeted to cost $88 million in 2024. The district is estimating a deficit of $194.4 million for the upcoming fiscal year of 2024-25 and a $420.5 million deficit for the fiscal year 2025-26.
Gavin Newsom expects a deficit this year. What does that mean for state worker contracts?
January 13, 2023 // High inflation would usually be a strong argument for raising pay. But budget deficits typically call for cuts in public spending, not increases. State employers face a tough decision. Some public employees are paid under the market rate for their roles and could leave for the private sector if raises are withheld. Public employee unions are also struggling with retention, which could worsen if a recession hits and older workers retire faster than departments can hire new ones.