Huntington Beach is balancing its next budget by cracking open the piggy bank.
The City Council has unanimously signed off on a $592 million spending plan for fiscal year 2026-27 that leans on reserves to plug an estimated $15 million structural gap. The budget, which takes effect July 1, trims and reshuffles staff positions while aiming to shield core services like police, fire and public works from deeper cuts.
Council members approved the plan and related policy tweaks at their June 16 meeting, adopting Resolution No. 2026-24, according to the city's meeting agenda. Staff framed the moves as a short-term fix to steady the books while city leaders hunt for longer-term revenue solutions.
Acting Chief Financial Officer Zack Zithisakthanakul told the council that “the city has built and maintained a strong reserve position over the last 10 or 12 years,” but cautioned that those dollars are meant for one-time needs, not to float ongoing operations. Even so, the adopted plan taps that cache to cover what staff peg as roughly a $15 million structural deficit, with about $99 million in reserves available overall, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Where the money goes
The approved budget totals $592 million, with general-fund revenues and expenditures each projected at $328.2 million. Property taxes and other local taxes together are expected to bring in about $219 million.
Public Works takes the biggest slice at about $186 million, while police and fire combined account for roughly $173 million. To help control costs, the plan removes funding for 15 vacant police officer positions, creates one new lieutenant role and reclassifies other jobs, according to the Los Angeles Times. City officials say the idea is to keep patrols and emergency response intact while tightening around the edges.
Staffing tradeoffs
City financial records list roughly 992 full-time equivalent positions. Budget materials also show about 85 job openings that would stay unfunded if they remain unfilled. The city’s financial documents outline plans to eliminate several vacant roles, hold others open and reclassify positions as part of a broader cost-control strategy, according to the city's ACFR.
Why residents are worried
Residents who spoke at a budget study session warned that fewer staffed positions and leaner services could ripple through neighborhoods, quality of life and even property values. The anxiety is not just about the numbers on the spreadsheet; it is about what happens if trimmed staffing starts to show up as slower response times or rougher roads.
The timing does not help. On top of the structural shortfall, an Orange County judge has ordered Huntington Beach to pay nearly $960,000 in attorneys' fees over a library dispute, according to a library censorship tab. Separately, the governor's office says the city faces penalties for housing-element noncompliance, including a $160,000 judgment and escalating monthly fines, as outlined by the Governor’s office. All of it piles more pressure onto City Hall’s balance sheet.
Officials say the new budget buys them a year to chase fresh revenue ideas and efficiency tweaks. At the same time, they repeatedly stress that reserves are not a long-term stand-in for recurring income. With pension obligations and inflation expected to keep outpacing tax growth, Huntington Beach leaders are signaling that the next round of decisions will need to focus less on patches and more on structural repair.
