Auburn’s budget troubles continued to cast a long shadow over City Hall on Thursday, where residents, union leaders, and city officials clashed over layoffs, public transparency, and the direction of city policy as the next budget process moves forward.
While council approved several routine measures — including budget transfers, a sidewalk contract, and a new tax collection policy — the sharpest moments of the night came during public comment, where speakers warned against balancing the city’s finances on the backs of workers, questioned the city’s handling of records requests, and raised alarms about the use of Flock license plate surveillance technology in the community.
The meeting also marked the start of Auburn’s department-by-department budget review process for the coming fiscal year, with city staff outlining a schedule that could include a local law to override the state tax cap if council decides that step is necessary later this spring.
Budget pressure drives public frustration
The clearest through line of the meeting was the city’s mounting budget strain and the public anxiety surrounding what comes next.
Tom Gayback, president of the Auburn Professional Unit and also head of CSEA Local 806, urged council to reconsider proposed layoffs affecting union workers. He said the city workforce has already been steadily reduced over decades and argued there is little left to cut without harming services.
Gayback said departments such as sewer and water have already been whittled down to skeleton levels compared to past staffing, warning that another round of cuts would only deepen long-term problems without solving the city’s structural financial issues. He argued that city leaders need to find new revenue or a different strategy because more layoffs would only leave Auburn facing the same crisis again next year.
That concern carried into the public comments that followed, with multiple residents arguing that the city should first take a harder look at waste, inefficiencies, and unanswered questions about public spending before eliminating more positions.
James Udall criticized the city’s handling of unpaid taxes and foreclosure-related finances, saying Auburn backstops unpaid tax obligations for the county and school district while residents still do not have clear answers about how much of that money the city ultimately recovers. He also accused the city of failing to respond in a timely way to Freedom of Information Law requests and said better financial accountability is needed when the city is discussing layoffs and service reductions.
Andrew Bishop raised similar concerns, saying residents cannot meaningfully scrutinize city spending without access to records. He argued that if Auburn wants to talk seriously about trimming its budget, it first needs better transparency and clearer line-by-line accountability.
Surveillance concerns surface over Flock technology
One of the most pointed comments of the night had little to do with the budget itself but touched on broader questions of privacy, technology, and trust in local government.
Auburn resident Katie Hoff told council she is deeply concerned about the presence of Flock in the community, describing the company’s license plate reader system as part of a larger surveillance infrastructure that could expand far beyond its stated use.
Hoff, who said she works in technology and AI-related fields, warned that systems like Flock can be used to identify patterns of behavior and potentially connect with broader databases. She argued that even if the city’s current use is limited, the long-term risks lie in the private company behind the platform, its ability to change terms of service, and the lack of regulations keeping pace with rapidly evolving surveillance technology.
She told council she does not believe public safety should come at the expense of residents’ privacy and said everyday civilians should not be tracked by default.
No council action was taken on the issue Thursday, but the comments added another point of tension to a meeting otherwise dominated by budget fallout.
Council approves transfers, sidewalk contract
Council did move through several pieces of business, though even the routine items reflected the city’s financial strain.
A budget transfer resolution prompted questions from Councilor Jimmy Diego, who pressed staff about why an additional $50,000 was needed within a solid waste-related budget line when the city had already entered into a multiyear contract last year. Finance staff said the issue was not the contract itself, but that money in that line had been consumed by higher-than-expected repair and maintenance costs on older packer trucks still in use because replacements have not yet arrived.
Diego summed up the problem bluntly, saying the city had effectively set the money aside but then had to use it for something else.
Council also approved a $145,615 contract for the 2026 city sidewalk program. Staff said the work is funded through the road program and reimbursable through state CHIPS funding, meaning it will not fall as a direct local cost. Diego again asked questions about whether some listed work could be handled in-house, but engineering staff said several line items were included as contingencies tied to site conditions and possible driveway or restoration issues.
Tax collection policy approved as budget season begins
Another measure approved Thursday was a new tax collection and foreclosure policy aimed at intervening earlier when property owners fall behind.
Mayor Jimmy Giannettino said the goal is to keep residents from reaching the point of foreclosure after two years by encouraging earlier repayment arrangements when possible. City officials said the policy will now be added to the city’s annual financial policy review process.
The meeting also formally launched the next phase of Auburn’s budget season. City Clerk Chuck Mason outlined a calendar for April department presentations and May deliberations, including the possibility of a local law to override the state tax cap if council chooses to go that route. A public hearing on both the budget and any proposed override is tentatively scheduled for May 28, with final budget adoption set for June 4.
Elsewhere in the meeting, council tabled approval of March 12 meeting minutes after members said there appeared to be an error in the attendance heading. The city manager also highlighted several operational updates, including progress at the wastewater treatment plant that officials said could reduce solids volume and generate more than $400,000 in annual disposal savings once the new process is fully online.
Still, for much of the night, those updates took a back seat to a harder reality: Auburn is entering another difficult budget season with residents openly questioning not just what gets cut, but whether city government is being transparent enough about how it spends, saves, and sets priorities.
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