Huntington Beach councilors on June 26 unanimously approved a $5.4 million 2023-24 fiscal year budget—which begins July 1—after an hours-long discussion which attracted over 100 residents, many of whom were concerned about a proposal posted online the Friday before the special meeting that showed the possibility of some services being cut, including at the city’s libraries.
After being alerted to the issue of possible cuts via an email from Councilmember Dan Kalmick, the council received angry emails from constituents, and by Monday, just before the meeting, city staff produced a revised document, which ultimately removed many of the controversial cuts.
At issue was the previous document’s projection that in order to prevent a $7.4 million deficit for its 2024-25 fiscal year, things such as shutting down three of the city’s libraries—and limiting hours for others—and reducing city landscaping, maintenance and cleaning beach bathrooms might have to be cut….