In the most recent round of budget talks, Vallejo’s City Council moved to cut 44 vacant full-time city jobs, saving the city at least $6.4 million. On top of that, at least 10 full-time city workers will get the axe by 2027, bringing city staff numbers down to 623.
It was a rush job, said Mayor Andrea Sorce, who was the lone “no” vote at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. But it had to be done, she said.
“I am aligned with 90 percent of what we did,” said Sorce. “I felt like some of the decisions were arbitrary… I would have liked to give the city manager a little more time to decide a more precise number of layoffs.”
Time was limited: Interim City Manager Harry Black presented what he called a “lean and mean” budget only one month into the job.
The 44 vacant roles to be cut were considered the least critical of the 141 vacancies, according to Assistant City Manager Nalungo Conley. Thirty of the eliminations hit the Police Department, along with one role from Human Resources, two from the Finance Department, three from the City Manager’s Office, eight from Public Works and one from Human Resources.
The 10 staffers who will be losing their jobs next year have not been identified.
Workforce realignment
“There is a need to reduce workforce to realign our workforce with our services,” said Councilmember Tonia Lediju.
Conley said the positions were determined after an “exercise with all the department heads.” The remaining 97 positions were considered too critical to cut. By 2027, there will be a total of 623 staffers citywide.
Vallejo’s general fund revenue has flatlined in recent years, mostly due to people spending less and employee costs going up, according to Conley.
“Right now, we’re just playing with numbers. We’ve used Measure P to fill a lot of gaps they weren’t intended to fill.”
Vice Mayor Diosdado “JR” Matulac
“Right now, we’re just playing with numbers,” said Vice Mayor Diosdado “JR” Matulac, who represents District 2. “We’ve used Measure P to fill a lot of gaps they weren’t intended to fill.”
Around $11.5 million is coming to the general fund’s aid from Measure P, a public safety and street maintenance fund paid by Vallejoans and visitors through local sales tax. Measure P watchdogs attempted to hold up some $1.5 million in Public Works expenses approved in the recent budget, but City Council moved forward with them.
Flocking away from surveillance cameras
Council voted to remove $302,500 for Flock cameras initially marked for funding by Measure P, possibly thanks to mounting pressure from opponents to Flock license plate readers. Several council members said they wanted to continue the conversation around Flock funds.
“What other alternative technologies are out there that could help police department do the job with investigations while still protecting civil rights?” asked District 4 Councilmember Charles Palmares. “That needs to be part of the conversation.”
Interim City Manager Black had a little over a month to take on the city’s shoestring budget, which faces a $31.8 million deficit and no finance director since Rekha Nayar left the role in 2025. Black, formerly city manager for Stockton, was hired shortly after the sudden departure of Andrew Murray in April, whose tenure lasted under two years.
City Council is required to submit a balanced 2026-27 budget by June 30.
“With the last city manager, we asked for certain solutions over the year that didn’t get done,” said Councilmember Tonia Lediju on June 9. Now, she said, Black is working not only with a ballooning deficit, but with a one-year lag on addressing it.