Saratoga council funds community events in the face of projected $4.8 million budget deficit

Saratoga City Council approved funding for a slate of seven community events totaling $31,500 at its Wednesday night council meeting, even as some residents suggested that these events go unfunded to help with the city’s projected budget deficit.

The city is heading toward a $4.8 million budget deficit by 2026. Saratoga staff said the preliminary three-year budget forecast showed the city’s spending will likely surpass its revenues.

“Saratoga is already facing budget challenges, which are projected to get worse every year going forward,” resident Bill Dalton said. “The cost cutting needs to start now. (These events are) a perfect example of a recurring annual expense to begin this process.”

The greenlit events include the Blossom Festival, Fourth of July and Memorial Day celebrations, the Saratoga Classic Car Show and a Saratoga Community Band Concert in the Park. Funds were also set aside for community events by Hakone Estate and Gardens and the Saratoga Village Development Council.

“These are the kinds of hometown events that people relish, they want to participate and they want to be at, and it’s one of the things that gives Saratoga the charm that it has,” Councilmember Chuck Page said. “I think it’s important that we continue these.”

Council voted to make the Martin Luther King Jr. event, which was held for the first time earlier this year, a recurring event with annual funding of $2,000.

The Community Event and Street Closure Grant Program, which funds the events, was approved in fiscal year 2013-14 for local, volunteer-led events.

The program also awards funds through a competitive application process to encourage new events each year. Council voted last year to put those funds toward the annual Easter egg hunt, a community art exhibition themed “Peace, Love, Unity,” a community Mitzvah Day, a Dragon Boat Festival and the MLK Jr. Day celebration.

The chosen events must be located in Saratoga, free and open to the public, led by volunteers and focused on Saratoga’s character, diversity or history and celebrate the community as a whole.

Council allocated $31,500 this fiscal year for secured community event grants, $22,000 for a secured street closure grant and $10,000 for competitive community event grants.

Some councilmembers wanted staff to consider updating the policy to require reports on how the grant money is spent.