The Santee City Council plans to distribute tens of thousands of dollars of leftover federal aid to four organizations that help the homeless, as East County leaders ramp up responses to a growing humanitarian crisis.

The city has also approved a balanced $53 million budget, including salary increases and a new fire truck, as well as a large street sweeping contract despite concerns the company is gouging taxpayers.

The council voted for the proposals during a public meeting Wednesday, ahead of the fiscal year that begins next month.

“The cost of living and inflation is real,” Councilmember Dustin Trotter said. “I’m super proud that we’re able to give our staff ... raises.”

However, Trotter disagreed with how homeless aid money was divided and said the budget should direct less money to city hall beautification and the city manager’s office and more to infrastructure, making him the lone holdout in the two votes approving the measures.

Santee has unquestionably seen homelessness increase.

A tally earlier this year by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness flagged nearly 50 people on the streets, but a more recent count found more than 130 just along the river, according to the San Diego River Park Foundation.

The city has more than $173,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding it must spend soon or lose.

The council moved to give the largest share, more than $71,000, to the East County Transitional Living Center. The El Cajon facility is the main shelter in the region, and council members on Wednesday praised the faith-based organization’s work.

PATH San Diego and Home Start Inc. will each receive $50,000. PATH wants to spend more time engaging people living by the river and Home Start helps low-income residents cover rent to avoid homelessness in the first place, among other services.

An estimated $2,000 was set aside to help the East County Homeless Task Force promote services available in the region. All four groups are set to receive less than what they originally asked.

The public can still weigh in on the allocations during the July 27 meeting before they’re submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Santee also bit the bullet and approved giving more than $339,000 to the Sweeping Corporation of America.

Before the company bought several competitors, street sweeping used to cost taxpayers far less than $200,000 a year, officials have said.

The new contract will last from July 1 through next June, with options to renew the 12-month agreement three times.

“We need to really make sure that we’re getting exactly what we’re paying for,” Mayor John Minto said.

The budget includes money for the equivalent of two new full-time positions, bringing the full staff to 133.

That’s just one more than the city employed right before the Great Recession, officials said.

The coming Type VI fire engine is known as a small brush rig and can go off road with 250 gallons of water.

The truck costs around $330,000, but some of that will be covered by a grant from The San Diego River Conservancy.

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