Logo courtesy of the City of Live Oak

LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - At the June 17 meeting of the Live Oak City Council, Mayor Jeramy Chapdelaine proposed eliminating city-paid health, dental, vision, life insurance and related benefits for councilmembers as their current terms expire.

The city is facing ongoing financial challenges, and Chapdelaine said the benefits are an expenditure that can be cut without affecting services to residents. Many similarly sized jurisdictions do not provide these benefits to councilmembers, and they were established in Live Oak by council resolution in the 1990s.

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 includes $121,965 for councilmember benefits, and those costs continue to rise. Since 2017-18, benefit costs have increased nearly 76%, with additional increases expected in future years. Based on current costs, Chapdelaine estimated that eliminating the benefits could save the city $609,825 over five years and $1.2 million over 10 years. Actual savings could be even higher if annual cost increases continue.

Chapdelaine said he wanted to introduce the proposal before the final budget discussion because “there is no other discretionary spending we really have left at this point.”

He said capital projects have been reduced to those supported by grant funding, and staffing costs have been cut to the minimum needed to sustain operations. He added that the only other option would be reducing parks and recreation programs, which generate revenue and provide benefits to residents.

The proposed budget also includes reductions to fire and police service contracts.

“It’s tough to ask our citizens to be impacted and not do whatever we can to meet them in the middle,” Chapdelaine said.

Councilmember Nancy Santana said eliminating benefits by July 1 would not give councilmembers enough time to secure alternative coverage. She also cited a California attorney general opinion stating that eliminating benefits during a councilmember’s current term could violate constitutional protections.

The city attorney said the council could adopt a resolution eliminating benefits when current terms expire, meaning newly elected or re-elected councilmembers would no longer be eligible.

Councilmember Ashley Hernandez said, “We are not in a great financial position, so I can respect the fact that [Mayor Chapdelaine] would bring that up and at least try to offer solutions. Somebody’s got to figure it out somewhere. ... The bottom line is we need to work together and figure out how to get out of the mess that we inherited. ... And sometimes that looks like tough decisions.”

Santana made a motion to instead reduce the percentage of paid benefits for all city employees and councilmembers.

Chapdelaine noted that employee benefits are governed by labor agreements and cannot be changed unilaterally. He also said the motion was not properly agendized because only councilmember benefits were under consideration.

Santana then requested that the item be postponed until after the November election so the newly seated council could make the decision. Chapdelaine responded that delaying action would further postpone any savings.

“It’s just kicking the can down the road again,” he said.

Santana asked how long the benefits would remain eliminated. The city attorney explained that the change would become city policy unless a future council voted to restore the benefits.

Chapdelaine then made a motion to eliminate council benefits as each member’s term expires. The motion passed 4-1, with Santana dissenting.

The members whose terms expire this November are Chapdelaine, Hernandez and Councilmember Bob Woten. Santana and Vice Mayor Aaron Pamma are up for re-election in 2028.

The council then continued reviewing the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget, which includes reductions to fire and police contracts, two of the city’s largest expenditures.

Under the proposed budget, the general fund is expected to end the year with a balance of $409,767.

Mayor Chapdelaine said that even if the city used all of its reserves to maintain public safety contracts at previous funding levels, “we’re broke at the end of the year. ... Where do we go from there? ... What happens to those contracts when we have no money to pay them the next fiscal year?”

City Manager Ben Moody said that concern prompted the city to renegotiate the contracts. He said the cost reductions will allow the city to “tread water” this year while officials hope voters approve a public safety tax measure in November.

If the measure fails, Moody warned that next year could bring deeper cuts to public safety and potentially all parks and recreation programs, which would also reduce associated revenue.

Santana said the cuts to public safety would negatively affect both residents and public safety personnel. She argued that the city should maintain existing contract levels.

Pamma asked how the city could afford to do so.

“Offer your suggestion. I’m all ears,” Pamma said.

He also pointed to years of inaction by previous councils, noting that Santana has served on the council since 2020.

“How are you surprised we’re in this position?” he asked.

Hernandez said, “We have a united goal. None of us want to lose fire. None of us want to lose police. If we could staff them to the highest extent and afford that, we would all do that. ... Right now, we don’t have the money.”

She also accused Santana of “grandstanding” without presenting realistic solutions.

The council voted 4-1 to approve the proposed budget, with Santana dissenting.

General fund expenditures total $6.3 million. The police contract represents the largest expense at $1.7 million, or 27.7% of general fund spending. Parks and recreation is the second-largest expense at $1.1 million, or 17%, followed by the fire service contract at $910,375, or 14.4%.

The next meeting of the Live Oak City Council is scheduled for July 8.