The Times and Daily Journal are reporting on the start of the county budget talks. The essence of the talks is
County supervisors will sharpen their pencils and take on the recommended $1.7 billion budget today, beginning a three-day span of hearings in which department heads will take turns detailing how they plan to meet their bottom line and help plug the structural deficit.
The 2010-2011 budget released by County Manager David Boesch pulled $90 million from reserves and cut $36 million from programs. All together, the county has drawn $248 million in reserves over the last three years to balance its budget. Unless the Board of Supervisors this week opts to veer from Boesch’s recommendations, the general fund will be left with $209 million in reserves.
And the big uncertainty is
One big unknown in the budget process is exactly how much more or less the state will siphon from county coffers. The May budget revision released by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would take an estimated $116 million from local programs and services but the Legislature is currently haggling over the recommendations.
These are big numbers all around and the trial balloon on higher taxes is still floating around.
Here is the upshot of the sales tax increase option that the County is looking at:
The Board of Supervisors is ready to ask voters in November for a quarter-cent sales tax to annually raise $30 million toward the structural deficit even as one member cautioned the request is too soon.
“I think November of this year is a little too early,” said Supervisor Carole Groom.
Groom cast the sole dissenting vote.
Groom said there isn’t enough time to properly educate voters about why the county needs the money. She also worried voters won’t believe the county has no other option.
“We have not made enough serious cuts so that the people could honestly say we are at bare bones,” Groom said.
But supervisors Mark Church and Rose Jacobs Gibson said there is a sense of urgency. If the board doesn’t act in November for a general sales tax, it must wait until 2012 when there is another supervisorial election scheduled. The Board of Supervisors could also unanimously declare a fiscal emergency.
The full article is at http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?type=lnews&title=County%20ready%20to%20ask%20voters%20for%20new%20tax&id=134802
Posted by: Joe | June 30, 2010 at 11:08 AM