The deficit
Menlo Park's proposed budget plans to spend more than it expects to collect. The City has to close that gap. This page lays out exactly what's on the table — laid out neutrally, so you can form your own view.
New to deficits? The plain-language version is shorter.
For FY 2026-27 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027), the City plans to spend $89,800,000 from its General Fund but expects to collect only $88,000,000. That leaves a deficit of about $1,800,000.
›Show source
Revenue and spending are summed from the General Fund records in the City's general ledger for fiscal year 2027 (revenue and expense lines). The published headline figures ($88,000,000 and $89,800,000) are rounded versions of these totals. Source: OpenGov transparency portal and the May 28, 2026 public budget workshop deck.
New to this? The plain-language explainer walks through what a deficit is and the three ways a city can close one.
How we got from $7.8 million to $1,800,000
Here is the part most residents don't hear about. When City staff first started building the FY 2026-27 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027) budget months ago, the projected gap was much larger — about $7.8 million.
By the time staff brought the budget to the public workshop on May 28, 2026, that gap had been reduced to about $1,800,000. So roughly $6 million of the shortfall had already been closed. How?
- A Cost of Services Study and updated fee schedule.The City reviewed what it actually costs to provide specific services (building permits, planning review, recreation, and so on) and adjusted the fees it charges to match more closely. The new fee schedule takes effect July 1, 2026. This raises revenue without raising taxes.
- Expenditure reductions.Departments tightened operating budgets. Per staff, about $0.7 million came from cost-saving measures and deferred expenditures — work being slowed or pushed to later years.
- Operational efficiencies.Improvements to internal processes. The Administrative Services Department also adopted a new investment methodology that brought in about $1.3 million more from the City's pooled investment portfolio.
- Every department contributing. Staff were explicit that the closure was citywide, not concentrated in any one department.
The remaining gap of about $1,800,000is what's left after that work. About $0.7 million in further cuts goes to the Council on June 9, 2026 — listed in the next section. If approved, that would bring the remaining gap to about $1.2 million.
›Show source
The $7.8 million starting gap, the roughly $6 million closed before publication, and the $1.3 million investment-income improvement are from the City of Menlo Park Public Budget Workshop, May 28, 2026 — comments by Administrative Services Director Brittany Mello (~11:40) and supporting department directors.
1. What the City has proposed to cut
City staff have put forward about $703,055 in specific reductions for the City Council to consider. Here is the full list, grouped by department.
Library and Community Services
-$273,655- Library program reductions-$169,255
Fewer library programs, plus small cuts to materials and outside contracts.
- Indoor recreation reductions-$104,400
Fewer indoor recreation programs, with some staffing efficiencies.
Public Works
-$429,400- Safe routes to school-$105,000
Less spending on the program that helps kids walk and bike to school safely.
- General non-herbicide weed removal-$91,600
Less hand weeding in public areas — the kind that avoids chemical herbicides.
- Tree lighting-$70,000
Holiday tree lighting scaled back.
- Landscape median and right-of-way maintenance-$69,800
Less upkeep of landscaped street medians and the strips along roadways.
- Mechanical non-herbicide weed removal-$50,000
Less machine weeding that avoids chemical herbicides.
- Downtown/Santa Cruz median & street tree lighting-$43,000
Reduced lighting on downtown medians and the street trees along Santa Cruz Avenue.
These cuts add up to about $703,055. Even with every cut on this list, these reductions still leave about $1,152,496of the gap unaddressed in the public budget materials. The City will have to find that elsewhere — the next section is the menu it's choosing from.
›Show source
Each line is a proposed budget change from the City's pending budget records, shown in full with no items omitted. Amounts are the reductions staff have recommended for fiscal year 2027. Source: May 28, 2026 public budget workshop deck.
2. The other options on the table
Cuts are only one of three ways to close a deficit. A city can spend less, bring in more, or dip into savings. Most use some mix. Here is the full menu, described without taking a side.
Spend less
Cut more services, or delay them. The list in section 1 is this lever. Going further means fewer or smaller programs, slower maintenance, or putting off planned work to a later year.
Bring in more
Find revenue that isn't in the plan today. Options include raising or adding fees for specific services, asking voters to approve a tax measure, or pursuing more outside grants. New taxes generally need voter approval, so they take time and aren't guaranteed.
Use savings
Draw from the City's reserves— money set aside for shortfalls and emergencies. This closes a gap quickly, but it's one-time money: spend it this year and it isn't there next year, or for the next emergency.
Which mix the City chooses is a judgment call — about what services matter most, how much risk to carry, and what residents are willing to pay. That judgment is what the Council weighs, and what public comment can shape.
3. How to weigh in before the vote
None of this is final until the Council votes. The schedule below is where residents have a say.
The single most effective thing you can do
Show up to — or write in for — the June 9, 2026 public hearing. That's the main moment for residents to speak, and public comment is open to anyone. The Council listens, asks questions, and can direct staff to change the plan. If you can't attend, email city.council@menlopark.gov.
Every step from spring priority-setting to the June adoption vote.
Dates, locations, and which meetings are open for public comment.
Looking ahead
The list above is what's being voted on June 9. There are also commitments not yet in this budget that the City will need to address — including a Caltrain Crossing MOU amendment of about $5.4 million with a contractual deadline of November 9, 2027 (tied to the Middle Plaza Development Agreement), the VLFbackfill contingency if the state doesn't restore it on June 15, 2026, and the future water rate path. Each of these surfaces on its own project page; the fullest inventory is in the independent executive summary.