The Salinas City Council voted 5 to zero Tuesday to approve an 82-point-4 million dollar budget for the 2012 – 2013 year. The city expects that spending will be around 80-point-1 million dollars in the new fiscal year, with a small reserve of 2-point-7 million. Salinas city officials were able to configure the budget so that no cuts will be made to staff or services. However, several positions still remain frozen, and the Salinas Police Department is about 50 officers short of what a city the size of Salinas is recommended to have. Furthermore, the city projects significant deficits in the future, with 4-point-8 million over the budget next year, and nearly double that in the 2014 and 15 year.
