Vallejo budget plan targets 44 vacant positions and 10 jobs

The Vallejo City Council voted 4-3 in June to approve a modified budget-cut scenario that targets 10 full-time positions for elimination by midyear and removes funding for 44 vacant positions. The plan is intended to address a projected $10.7 million general-fund deficit.

The vote sets a direction for the city’s 2026-27 budget discussions, but it does not mean that all of the targeted positions were immediately terminated or that the final budget has been adopted. The identified reductions remain part of the city’s ongoing budget process.

What the scenario changes

The scenario calls for 10 currently funded full-time jobs to be identified for cuts by midyear. It also removes funding for 44 positions that are vacant. Together, those actions would reduce planned staffing and spending as Vallejo works to close the projected general-fund gap.

The council approved the scenario with modifications after several months of discussions about the budget and Measure P, the city’s sales-tax measure. Some council members criticized the proposal as lacking sufficient data and disputed whether the numbers actually balanced.

That disagreement leaves the city with an approved budget-cut framework but continued debate over the details behind it. The city’s annual budget process is used to allocate funding for programs, services and future goals, and additional decisions are needed before appropriations and staffing outcomes are final.

Public safety accounts for most proposed spending

The budget discussion highlighted how heavily the general fund is committed to public safety. Approximately 45% of proposed general-fund spending, or about $63 million, was identified for the Police Department. The Fire Department accounted for approximately 29%, or about $41 million.

Those figures frame the choices facing the council. Reducing staffing while preserving police, fire, public works and other core services will require decisions about which positions remain funded and how available revenue is used.

Measure P revenue was part of the council’s discussion about those choices. Council members also considered an $11 million policing contract with the Solano County Sheriff’s Office. The budget discussion identified $1.7 million in savings related to that contract.

Other requests were also under discussion

The council’s budget deliberations included a request for an additional $250,000 for marina dredging. That request appeared alongside the broader debate over staffing, public safety spending, Measure P revenue and the sheriff’s contract.

The combination of proposed job reductions, vacant-position defunding and competing service requests shows the practical challenge created by the projected deficit. Vallejo must decide how to balance workforce levels against core operations while determining whether the proposed revenues and savings are sufficient.

The next phase is the remainder of the 2026-27 budget process. The June vote identified a reduction scenario, while final appropriations and the final staffing outcomes will depend on later budget action by the city.