Salinas invites residents to weigh in on city budget priorities.

Celia Jiménez here, reminding you that tonight is the last community budget meeting in Salinas. I attended the first one back in January at the Salvation Army, where about 30 residents learned about next year’s city budget, how resources are being used and shared their priorities. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, the city has about $231.4 million to spend. Most of it, $194.8 million, is already spoken for with projected spending on police, fire, youth programs, recreation and more. 

After the presentation in January, participants at each table discussed which areas would be most important for them to see the city allocate funds. They were asked to spend $700 “Salinas bucks” in the areas they wanted the city to focus on, such as street maintenance, youth programs, and more. Beatriz Trujillo, who was one the facilitators at the meeting, was surprised how organized our table was. “The group was really surprisingly engaged, they understood the activities,” she says. “They had very concise asks that they were putting underneath each of the categories.” 

Trujillo says that at another table where she was assisting, many participants welcomed projects to house unhoused individuals. “They were saying that we need to do our best to make sure that we are making our homeless residents feel like they're also part of our community,” Trujillo says, in summary.

One attendee was Mateo Brambila, an 18-year-old who attends Hartnell College. He came with his dad to the meeting, and says it gave him a broader perspective of what other residents want in the city.  “I don't really talk a lot with other people about the issues in Salinas,” Brambila says, but this provided a way to articulate his hopes and aspirations.

At his table of all Spanish speakers, the group decided to talk about which issues they thought were most important before deciding how to allocate their Salinas bucks. 

Brambila arrived most interested in infrastructure and beautification, he says, but after bouncing ideas around with others at his table and hearing their perspectives, he saw that more issues deserved funding—including violence prevention, parks and recreation, and youth development.

Ultimately, the Salinas City Council is going to be responsible for approving a budget that spends real dollars—not “Salinas bucks”—to achieve the city’s needs and priorities for the next year. Tonight’s community meeting is the last in a series designed to bring the public into the process.  

If you want to participate and share your priorities, you can attend tonight’s meeting, from 6-8pm, at the Breadbox Rec Center at 745 N. Sanborn St. The event will provide childcare, food and Spanish interpretation. You can also fill out a survey online to help staff decide how to recommend slicing the pie and make yourself heard. The final budget will be adopted in June.