... During their first in-depth look at upcoming budgets for the police and fire departments [on Wednesday, 5/26] Santa Barbara city leaders faced down cuts that include fee increases coupled with the elimination of vacant positions.

Police officials outlined $1.56 million in budget adjustments, the largest dollar figure being cut by any city department, while fire officials described $908,000 in proposed cuts.

Despite the seemingly large figures, the two public safety departments are taking half the hit of other city departments, with 4.7 percent of their budgets being cut compared to nearly 10 percent in other areas.

“We’re feeling the pain all over and we’re going to work hard to come up with some alternative balancing strategies to make sure people don’t experience a loss of service that puts them in danger,” Councilmember Das Williams said...

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Daily Sound — Police and fire officials outline budget cuts