The Fullerton City Council will address the city’s finances on Tuesday, July 21, taking up a package of items, including whether to ask voters this November to approve a new half-cent sales tax for streets and public infrastructure — and how to close a $3.8 million hole in next year’s operating budget.
The agenda is unusually heavy, and nearly every item comes back to the same problem: a structural deficit that staff says cannot be solved by cuts alone. Alongside the tax question and three competing budget scenarios, the Council will consider authorizing up to $180 million in tax-exempt bonds to preserve nearly 400 apartments near Cal State Fullerton as affordable housing, roughly $4 million in construction contracts, and more than $2 million in new federal housing grants.
Before the public session, the Council will meet in closed session on several matters, including existing litigation in Ralph and Marie Kaneshiro v. City of Fullerton and Anne Hamilton v. City of Fullerton, one case of anticipated litigation, and real-property negotiations involving 3535 West Commonwealth Avenue and 110 East Santa Fe Avenue…