Willits Faces Night of Reckoning as City Council Considers Declaring a Financial Emergency
Vice mayor says the meeting on March 9 may be "the most important this city has ever had"
A pivotal moment for the city of Willits may arrive Monday night, when elected officials are preparing to preside over what one council member described as the most consequential meeting in the city’s history.
Vice Mayor Matthew Alaniz said the City Council will consider declaring a financial emergency when it meets March 9, a move he said could be necessary to stabilize the city’s troubled finances and allow officials to restructure operations.
“This Monday … we will be having a very special and important City Council meeting — maybe the most important this city has ever had,” Alaniz wrote in a public statement posted to social media.
The meeting is expected to begin with a closed session at 6:30 p.m., followed by a public presentation from interim City Manager Robert Richardson outlining the results of months of financial review and a proposed plan for reorganizing city staff.
Alaniz said the council may need to declare a financial emergency to “make the needed changes to keep us functioning as a city.”
The council will also debate a staff reorganization intended to keep the city’s general fund solvent as it prepares its fiscal year 2026–27 budget, which begins in July. Alaniz said officials will consider limiting how much accumulated leave employees can cash out after the city paid more than $500,000 in such costs over the past two years, according to Alaniz.
“This City Council has taken on the difficult (and sometimes unpopular) task of finding a way out of our current financial issues,” Alaniz wrote. “Putting the people of Willits first means putting the financial sustainability center stage.”
Financial crisis months in the making
The looming decisions come after months of warnings that the small Mendocino County city faces deep structural budget problems.
Shortly before Christmas, Richardson gathered city employees and told them layoffs were likely as the city scrambled to close a widening budget gap. Richardson had been on the job just over two weeks at the time.
“I don’t want to sugarcoat this,” he told employees. “There are those of us who will not be here in the future.”
Richardson said he planned to spend January studying how the city operates and identifying positions that could be consolidated or eliminated before presenting a strategic reorganization plan to the council.
City employees have said the situation is the result of years of management decisions that left Willits spending far more than it takes in.
The city employs roughly four dozen workers.
Employees express anger and frustration
As Monday’s meeting approaches, some employees say the coming decisions will punish workers who were not responsible for the financial problems.
City employee Nici Caldwell wrote in a social media comment that employees have endured years of instability and fear while leadership avoided accountability.
“The current employees are the ones that have to take the heat … while the ones responsible for this mess have not only received huge separation packages, but also won’t take any responsibility at all,” Caldwell wrote.
Caldwell said employees have spent years worried about losing their jobs while dealing with what she described as harassment and a lack of transparency in decision-making.
“Most employees have lived a nightmare over the last five years,” she wrote.
Tough decisions ahead
City leaders have acknowledged the severity of the financial situation.
Mayor Tom Allman warned earlier this year that the council would soon face difficult choices.
“In the next 90 to 120 days, this council is going to make some really tough decisions,” Allman said at a January meeting.
Monday’s meeting could mark the moment when those decisions begin.
Mendo Local’s previous reporting on Willits’ financial and governance challenges:
Toxic Workplace Report, $2M Deficit Dominate Willits City Council Meeting, September 30, 2025
Willits Grapples with Fallout from Scathing Grand Jury Report, August 6, 2025