Seaside City Council considers deferring police and fire raises.

The city of Seaside is even deeper in the red than officials thought. And public safety officers, who ducked the first wave of salary adjustments in February, are now being asked to make concessions.

In December, city staff estimated the projected deficit for the current fiscal year at $3.1 million, or 13 percent of the General Fund. In an attempt to balance the budget, the City Council implemented a mix of 10 percent salary cuts and 10 percent work-week reductions for all non-safety staff. Police agreed to modify records technicians’ and detention officers’ schedules to reduce overtime costs, but otherwise did not absorb any of the cuts.

Now, with an the updated budget shortfall of about $3.7 million, the police, fire and public safety managers’ unions have agreed to defer for one year the 4 percent cost-of-living raises and equity adjustments that were scheduled to take effect this July.

The city expects the adjustment to save about $1.3 million.

The City Council/Redvelopment Agency holds a special joint meeting tonight at 5:30pm in the Council Chambers, 440 Harcourt Avenue, Seaside.