Guadalupe’s general fund deficit

As almost every public agency in California wages their budget battles, Guadalupe’s general fund deficit of $43,000 may sound like small change.

But for a city that brings in only about $3.2 million annually, spends more than that to provide its citizens services and is already running lean, making up a few thousand dollars isn’t easy.

The Guadalupe City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved its 2011-12 fiscal year budget, which is currently $43,000 in the red. That number is $16,000 better than the $59,000 deficit it had reported just last month. It’s also a lot more manageable than the $193,000 deficit it faced last year.

City Finance Director Carolyn Galloway-Cooper presented the budget to the council Tuesday, saying city staff is doing all that is possible to balance income and expenses. She explained that staff members are reviewing everything from telephone contracts to vendor contracts to cut costs.

“We don’t know what will happen with the jail and how it might affect us,” Alvarez said, speaking of Santa Barbara County’s yet-unresolved budget proposal for its North County jail.

If the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decides to close the Santa Maria Jail, all North County cities’ law-enforcement expenses will increase because those arrested will have to be transported to the county facility in Goleta.

Guadalupe’s Police Department budget for 2011-12 is nearly half of the city’s total with more than $1.5 million projected, an 8-percent increase over the current fiscal year.

“That’s one of our main goals is to get that number reduced,” Candelario said. “We’re fighting on two fronts. We’re trying to get past years’ debt reduced and trying to get a balanced budget for this year.”