The city of Springfield is facing a $3 million budget gap next year. The city will have to make some cuts in the short term – and is exploring longer-term ideas to increase revenue.
Springfield’s property tax growth has lagged behind both inflation and pension costs.
City Manager Nancy Newton has proposed a $1.3 million cut to library, police and fire services as well as public works. Newton told KLCC that savings will close the rest of the gap.
"We do have reserves that will get us through this next budget year, but we are going to have to make some hard decisions,” she said. “It's really tied into the structural imbalance that Springfield and other governments have."
The city of Eugene, Lane County and many school districts across the region are also cutting budgets and potentially laying off workers.
Newton said Springfield has already been reducing spending for years and doesn’t have much fat left to cut. She said no fire fighters will be laid off, but the city may need to reduce staffing at one station over the winter.
"In a discrete period of time, probably January through March in 2026, and we will look at that based on our data,” she said. “[One station] may have a reduction in staffing numbers, but only in off-peak hours."
The union representing the Eugene Springfield Fire Department, Local 851, has raised concerns about that plan – calling the cut a “brown-out” in a Facebook post last week.
“In reality, it means taking a gamble on your safety,” the union wrote. “The city has suggested these brown-outs would occur during ‘non-peak’ hours, but when it comes to fires and life-threatening medical emergencies, at what point during the day is your family’s safety less important?”
Only one worker, a community service officer in the police department, would be laid off under the proposal. Other cuts would be to jobs that are already vacant.
The fire fighters’ union has asked both Eugene and Springfield to spin off the fire department into a separate district in hopes of providing more stable funding.
Newton said policy decisions about whether to pursue more revenue, an independent fire district, or further cuts, are ultimately up to the city council.
The city council heard a report about long-term fiscal stability options this week, which included expanding public safety levies to cover the true cost of those services and a payroll tax. It will discuss its long-term fire levy May 28, including the potential to expand it to cover the true cost of those services. That levy is up for renewal in November.
A hearing and vote on the final budget is scheduled for June 13.
