This wouldn't happen in Pacifica, would it?

Rosy, election-year HMB budget numbers meet the reality of the recession

When Half Moon Bay, in the midst of selling bonds to pay off the debt to Charles "Chop" Keenan last summer, released its budget some observers were perplexed.

The budget, released while the county was mired in recession and with industry reports commonly citing high hotel vacancy rates, with news reports of sharp cutbacks in business and personal travel, with builders stopping construction of developments half finished, and with home owners crying out for property tax reassessments in light of the decreased values of their homes, reassured citizens that all was well.

No, there would be no decrease in the cherished "TOT"--the transit occupancy tax, commonly called the "hotel tax"--which forms the foundation of city revenues at about a third of the budget. No, there would be no decrease from the year before. In fact, there would be an increase in tax revenues from TOT--a record increase.

Take that, doom and gloom economists.

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