{"id":7388,"date":"2012-03-11T11:57:51","date_gmt":"2012-03-11T18:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=7388"},"modified":"2012-03-11T21:28:12","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T04:28:12","slug":"e-ditorial-yes-on-measure-12-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=7388","title":{"rendered":"E-ditorial – Yes on Measure 12-1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted 3\/11\/12 – <\/em>By Bill Coburn<\/p>\n

This editorial is the opinion of Bill Coburn, publisher of Sierra Madre News Net and 17 year Sierra Madre resident.\u00a0 It is not intended to reflect the views of any other person or entity with whom I am associated.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here for the City page with the sample ballot for Measure 12-1<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The City has been hit with two major financial blows in the last few months, the end of Community Redevelopment Agencies, and a windstorm that is ultimately expected to cost more than a million dollars, somewhere closer to a million and a half if I remember the figures correctly.\u00a0 Since CRA money was used to pay for part of the payroll for City staff and many programs\/projects associated with the CRA area (mostly the downtown area of the City, though it extended to Sierra Vista park and the city yards) we\u2019re told that the effect on the budget will be close to $800,000.\u00a0 Add to that a million dollars plus for wind related damage repair, and that\u2019s quite a substantial financial blow to our General Fund.<\/p>\n

There are three major sources of revenue for our General Fund, property taxes, the UUT and Vehicle License Fees, which account for 41%, 33% and 11% of budget revenue, respectively.\u00a0 That\u2019s 85% of our budget revenue.\u00a0 We have no control over property taxes or Vehicle License Fees.\u00a0 Both these sources of revenue are channeled through the state.\u00a0 History shows us that funds collected through the state rarely change for the better, from a City standpoint.\u00a0 It is far more likely that the state will find a way to reduce the revenues sent to the City than increase them, particularly with the fiscal crisis the state is facing.\u00a0 The ONLY one of the three major sources of revenue that we have any control over is the UUT, and that is revenue which, when collected, stays here in the City.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons we currently have a balanced budget is that all department heads were given the task of reducing General Fund expenses by $900,000 just prior to approval of the 2011 \u2013 2013 budget.\u00a0 This following, as the City Manager describes it in her cover letter to the Council \u201cdepartmental reorganizations, close monitoring of costs, and constant emphasis on \u201cdoing things more efficiently,\u201d all in an attempt to maintain a balanced General Fund budget.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, the city is already running a pretty tight ship.\u00a0 I recognize there is always room for improvement, but in a City that has already begun planning to lay off staff , further cuts will certainly mean additional cuts in staff and services.<\/p>\n

Money that is generated for the purposes of funding public safety and spent for that purpose means other General Fund money can be spent on maintaining staff and services in other areas.\u00a0 Yes, money has been generated in the past by the UUT that exceeded expectations.\u00a0 But suppose there is a fire, earthquake, or another windstorm.\u00a0 Suppose there is some unanticipated problem with the water supply that requires a large expenditure.\u00a0 Cash in reserve is a good thing in those situations. The City Council has, on two occasions, passed on increasing the rate, one of those times when the Citizens’ Oversight Committee was recommending that it SHOULD raise them.\u00a0 So here’s an opportunity for the Citizens of the town to vote to protect their City’s revenue stream, and to show trust in the officials that THEY have elected into office to do so as well.<\/p>\n

The additional revenue stream will reduce the possibility that our bond rating will be downgraded, with the higher interest rates that accompany that.\u00a0 Should one of the aforementioned catastrophes occur, requiring expenditures that exceed our General Fund\/Reserves balance, it would be in the City\u2019s best interests if we could borrow at a lower rate.<\/p>\n

One candidate told me that as far as he was concerned, if a Council member (or candidate) is talking about their concern for our bond rating, they are really talking about their intent to borrow more money.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see it that way.\u00a0 I see it as they are doing their civic duty, as an elected official (or potential elected official) of putting the City\u2019s best interests first, and protecting it against potential financial disaster by anticipating and preparing for the worst.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what I want my elected officials to do.\u00a0 I am voting for them to protect the City\u2019s interests<\/em>, not mine, though one would hope that they are often in line with one another.<\/p>\n

As long as we\u2019re on the subject, I hear a lot of concern about the fact that 53% of our budget goes to fund emergency services.\u00a0 That is a very high percentage to be sure.\u00a0 But let\u2019s bear in mind that the PD was one of those departments that had to make cuts as part of the $900,000 in reductions, as we also consider that perhaps one of the reasons that the emergency services percentage is so high is that the other departments are, in fact, so low.\u00a0 Maybe, just maybe, the other departments have done a good enough job reducing their costs that the numbers appear skewed toward public safety.\u00a0 Again, I recognize that there\u2019s always room for improvement, but let\u2019s factor in some credit for a job well done as part of the discussion, too.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I think that our General Fund reserves have taken a big hit, and that we, as residents of the City, need to replenish them if we want to protect our City.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see any other source of significant revenue with which we can do that.\u00a0 This is in the best interests of the City.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be voting yes.\u00a0 The companion measure, Measure 12-2, is advisory only, but it should be approved as well, so that the Council will know what the residents want done with the money generated by the UUT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted 3\/11\/12 – By Bill Coburn This editorial is the opinion of Bill Coburn, publisher of Sierra Madre News Net and 17 year Sierra Madre resident.\u00a0 It is not intended to reflect the views of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[136,53,139,63],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7388\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}