Palm Springs Faces $4 Million Budget Deficit

PALM SPRINGS -The City of Palm Springs crunched the numbers and discovered they face more than a $4 million budget deficit.

Visitors come to sunny Palm Springs to escape on their vacations. But, even this city cannot escape the budget deficits that jeopardize important services. City council members must now put all options on the table.

Councilman Chris Mills says, “You have to start looking at Public Safety.”

We ask if, there may be cuts in police officers and firefighters.

Mills replies, “There will probably be recommendation for cuts. I don’t think anyone on this council is looking to having to cut the public safety services in this city, but we have to look at it.

The good news: tourists are returning to Palm Springs. Hotel tax revenues are up. Sales tax revenue is steady.

The bad news: the city has already borrowed from their own $7 million reserves. That leaves Palm Springs with a gamble:

City Manager David Ready explains, “We either start laying off people, or we capitalize on our local economic development. So we put more money into tourism to really generate tourists at the new hotels and the new convention center and that helps stimulate our local economy so we can keep providing these services.”

We ask Ready if he would describe that as a “double down” on investment. Ready answers, “That’s exactly what we need to do.”

All eyes are on state leadership in Sacramento to see if they plan to raid Palm Springs for more cash.

Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, “$21 million dollar shortfall at the state level. How are we going to do that? They need to do it on the backs of the local governments. There are very few places we can cut now. Sacramento’s Ota get fixed because we can’t keep cutting and cutting.”