Bruce Delgado is Marina’s unlikely fiscal conservative, while opponents want to raise taxes – and put off an Otter invasion.

After hearing each Marina department head say martial law will ensue if they take an 18 percent cut, Mayor Bruce Delgado fervently rattles off possible excesses in the city’s budget: nearly $400,000 for the human resources department, $60,000 paid to a school consultant, $250 for city employees to stay at a Monterey hotel. Seated next to City Manager Tony Altfeld, Delgado proposes that city executives should take salary cuts, be given perks to live in the city and be required to work more than 40 hours a week.