The Sparks City Council narrowly passed the city's 2025/2026 budget on Tuesday, with one change that will affect revenue for the city.
The measure passed in a 3 to 2 vote, with Councilmembers Vanderwell and Rodriguez voting in opposition.
The budget was passed as presented according to minutes released by the City of Sparks, but the city manager was directed to increase the Waste Management franchise fee from 8 to 14 percent.
The Waste Management fee increase is less than one originally approved. As a result, three open police officer positions that the city was trying to hire for will now be frozen.
The city is also planning to lay off five firefighters, which had been previously announced.
The 2026/2027 budget will also start with a higher deficit due to the change, though the city was already projecting a deficit for that fiscal year.
