Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local file)

“As the first year without any one-time state and federal funding for homelessness response efforts, the General Fund will shoulder the full $9.6 million cost to continue these vital programs,” Santa Cruz Finance Director Elizabeth Cabell wrote in a budget report. City costs “are increasing and expense growth will outpace forecasted revenue over the next 10 years,” she wrote.

The draft city budget includes the equivalent of 26 new full-time staffers, including:

•  A development manager and analyst to oversee funding for affordable housing projects.
• A new police investigator, a supervisor for police property and evidence, and a supervisor for police records.
• Two new librarians, plus one part-time and one full-time library assistant.

Separately, at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 in the city council chambers and on Zoom, the city council will discuss the city’s budget in detail. It will focus on the city’s enterprise funds — which pay for water, parking and other services — and capital improvements, which are major construction or repair projects. 

At Tuesday’s meeting, the city council is also set to consider: 

• Final approval of the Downtown Plan expansion, which would allow more homes and a new Warriors stadium south of Laurel Street. Some aspects of the plan also need approval from the California Coastal Commission. 
• Fees for the Downtown Density Bonus, a program that incentivises developers to limit the height of their buildings by allowing more apartments to be built in a smaller building. As part of the program, developers can pay fees towards the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund instead of offering 20% of the new homes below market rate, as city law requires. 
• A report from the police auditor that outlined multiple cases of incomplete investigations into possible police misconduct. It recommended more formal protocols for tracking and investigating complaints against officers.

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