Sonora Slims Budget Deficit

Sonora, CA — The Sonora City Council is planning to conduct a special meeting on June 27th to vote on the 2011-12 fiscal budget.

City Administrator Tim Miller says $194,000 has been cut from the budget over the past couple of weeks, but there is still a deficit of around $37,000.

Miller continues to negotiate with the city’s four bargaining groups, in hopes of finding additional cost savings. Worker furloughs are also a possibility. There are no planned layoffs.

The $194,000 in savings comes from a variety of places. It includes reducing travel/training expenses for city workers, reducing the pay for part-time positions, eliminating some take home vehicles for department heads, worker retirements and unexpected grant funding.