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The first of six community meetings on developing spending priorities for Santa Ana’s upcoming annual budget will be held next week.
The city has created several ways for residents to give input into how tax dollars will be allocated in the next budget. The first community meeting is 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Newhope Library. Meetings are scheduled through April.
The annual budget funds administrative services and improvements, such as fixing streets, and decides the amount of money going toward the services such as law enforcement, parks and recreation, libraries and other public facilities and programs. The city’s fiscal year budget begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year.
Residents can also participate in this months-long process by responding to an online survey and having a go at the city’s online budget engagement simulation tool that allows users to try balancing a multi-million dollar budget.
“It’s very important to the City Council and city staff that we have feedback during the budget process. We value the input of the community, their ideas and responses to survey,” city spokesperson Paul Eakins said. “We really encourage people to participate in budget process. This is one of the most important times of year for the city. It determines what programs and services are prioritized.”
A large part of the $414 million budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year went to police, fire and rescue, public works and other expenditures such as employee compensation increases and project transfers. About $146 million of the general fund was earmarked for police spending, making up 35.5% of the budget.
About $15 million, 3.7% of the budget, were dedicated to parks and recreation and community services. About $7.4 million, or 1.8% of the budget, were allocated to the city’s public libraries.
The 12-question survey asks about how safe residents feel, what they think the city’s two highest budget priorities should be, what environmental issues are most important to them and more. Community members can respond to the survey until midnight on May 13.
Users can use the budget simulation tool, to get a hands-on look at how a balanced budget is created. With the tool, users can move money around to prioritize what they see fit such as public safety, community services, as well as describe new programs they would like to see. The tool and survey are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
To respond to the survey, find the next community budget meeting information or access the budget simulator, visit santa-ana.org/budget.
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