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Politics

Chula Vista Looks Ahead To Even Bigger Budget Deficit

Chula Vista Looks Ahead To Even Bigger Budget Deficit
Chula Vista is tackling next year’s budget deliberations six months early. Even after four years of cuts, the city’s budget hole is larger than ever.

Chula Vista is tackling next year’s budget deliberations six months early. Even after four years of cuts, the city’s budget hole is larger than ever.

The projected budget short fall for next year is somewhere between $12-$17 million.

City Manager Jim Sandoval says the council could eliminate whole city departments and still not close the financial hole.

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"For example," he said, "if the city libraries and the rec. centers all together were to be closed up, that still only gives you about $7 million, so the magnitude is very large."

Sandoval says he’s not recommending closing whole departments, but he wants the public to understand the severity of the problem.

He says Chula Vista has already eliminated more than 250 full-time positions, and has reduced its hourly staffing by half.

He says when the economy picks up and revenues increase Chula Vista will be well positioned, but the city faces several more years of restructuring.