El Cajon’s city leaders approved next year’s budget without making cuts to vital services, but officials warned future cuts are likely to maintain balanced spending as revenue slows and reserve funds dwindle.
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Last week, the City Council approved a lean $107.4 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2026-27 with a 4-1 vote. Councilmember Steve Goble voted against the budget, primarily because he wanted to use more reserve funds to hire additional firefighters.
Anticipating $104.5 million in revenue, officials said the shortfall was expected as revenue from property and sales taxes has slowed in the last four years.
Slowed revenue is what prompted officials to make 2.5% reductions across every department. Staff’s preliminary proposal would have reallocated all of firefighting staff at the Fire Station 6 — operated by Heartland Fire & Rescue in downtown El Cajon — and shut down the city’s crime lab.
But firefighters and crime lab technicians pushed back, warning the proposals would cut critical public safety services.
Ultimately, city leaders passed a budget package that reinstated the police department’s crime lab and kept two-thirds staffing for Fire Engine 208, meaning no services were reduced, for now.
In total, the approved budget pulled $3 million from the city’s general fund carryover reserve, bringing the unallocated reserve amount to $5.4 million.
What’s left is about $53.4 million in reserves formally designated for specific uses, including $13 million for retirement obligations, $20.2 million for “economic uncertainty” and a $20.2 million operating reserve fund. Those funds cannot be spent unless specific conditions are met.
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“I am concerned about the short-term impacts of today’s expenditures and reliance on the General Fund Reserve,” City Manager Graham Mitchell said. “We’re going to have to taper this up over time, hoping that revenues catch up at some point while we hold the line on our expenditures.”
What’s most concerning is the use of one-time funds to pay for ongoing costs, he said.
While the crime lab is fully funded in this year’s budget, Mitchell said he plans to discuss other options with the county in the future. With 15 frozen positions across all of the city’s departments, he warned the spending trend doesn’t leave room for future public safety costs.
“We’re gonna have to have some really tough discussions next year on some revenue sources that some of my colleagues aren’t going to like,” Councilmember Gary Kendrick said. “Sometimes you have to do something that isn’t all that popular to pay the bills.”
Kendrick had previously proposed the city allow marijuana dispensaries, in hope of creating additional revenue, but it was shot down by the council.
As it stands, officials said the budget will preserve vital services and maintain reserves as they look for future streams of revenue.
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