FAQs

Merced is working to keep its budget stable and protect basic City services. Recent state actions and the end of federal safety funding have made this more challenging, while needs like homelessness, street repairs, and park safety continue to grow. That’s why the City is launching Let’s Talk Merced to share information and gather community feedback before this year’s budget is adopted.

Federal funding that pays for 24 Merced firefighters and medical staff on every fire engine is ending soon. The majority of calls to the Merced Fire Department are for medical emergencies.

Without this funding, nearly half of the City’s firefighter-paramedics could be laid off. This would mean many emergency medical calls would no longer have a paramedic responding, putting lives and property at risk. 

Merced’s streets need urgent repair. Residents rely on safe roads to get to work, and emergency responders must be able to reach people quickly. 

Even without future budget cuts, the City needs to speed up pothole repairs and street maintenance to keep drivers, bikers, and pedestrians safe

Merced needs to do more to clean up encampments, remove illegal dumping and litter, and help people move from the streets into stable housing. These efforts also help keep public spaces safe and clean for everyone. Even without possible cuts to safety funding, the City does not currently have enough funds to meet these needs.

Not yet. The city wants to ensure that any solutions on funding services are resident informed. As part of the upcoming budget cycle, the city gathered early feedback from neighbors about service priorities, including: 

1. Addressing Homelessness, including encampments 
2. Responding quickly to neighborhood fires
3. Preventing gang activity in the city 
4. Protecting and maintaining 911 police response times/ ability to respond to a natural or medical disaster 
5. Fixing potholes  
6. Maintaining Merced’s local quality of life  
7. Keeping City Parks Safe and Clean

We want to hear from you. Join the conversation by completing the Quick Poll on this site. You can also leave a comment to provide additional thoughts. Your input will help guide future budgets and planning.