Gary Condit, a member of the Ceres Planning Commission and candidate for city council, has spearheaded a petition drive to take away taxpayer funded medical and dental benefits from councilmembers.
Condit said others are a part of the petition signature gathering effort, saying the city can ill afford the $100,000 budgeted for the expense.
“The City of Ceres has not maintained a balanced budget in over six years and continues to rely on reserve funds to close budget gaps each fiscal year,” said Condit. “As the council prepares to approve the upcoming fiscal year budget in June, residents are calling on our elected officials to eliminate this expense and prioritize long-term financial stability.”
As of Tuesday, 273 had signed the petition with a goal of reaching 500.
Three members of the council – Mayor Javier Lopez, Vice Mayor Daniel Martinez and Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra – all accept city sponsored health benefits, which is permitted by state law. Councilmembers James Casey and Cerina Otero do not take the benefit and have supported past efforts to end the practice. When it came time for the council to vote whether or not to explore the idea of eliminating the expense, Casey and Otero were outvoted.
Casey called on residents to sign the petition to “remove this unnecessary and costly benefit.”
Condit said he and other “fellow concerned residents” began collecting signatures about two weeks ago by going door-to-door and meeting with neighbors. He said so far, a couple of hundred signatures have been collected. They also have expanded efforts with an online petition which is available at https://c.org/tztR5jPzFx
The Ceres City Council is set to approve the next fiscal year budget in June 2026, and Condit and residents are preparing to present their collected signatures at that budget hearing.
“Public service is about putting the greater good of your community first, and right now, during a truly financial crisis in Ceres, the majority of our elected officials are putting themselves before the very residents they serve” Condit added.
