| City economic tax solutions can work again |
San Mateo County Times/Aaron Kinney, 7/9/13. "Pacifica council declares fiscal emergency, puts phone tax on ballot."
"PACIFICA -- Voters in this cash-strapped coastal city will decide in November whether to tax their phone bills. The Pacifica City Council moved unanimously Monday night to place a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot that would expand the city's utility users tax, which places a 6.5 percent levy on gas and electric services, to include telecommunications.
The tax brings in about $1.7 million a year right now, said City Manager Stephen Rhodes. Expanding it for eight years to include land line and mobile phone usage would bring in an extra $1.075 million annually, boosting the city's general fund budget of roughly $27 million.
The council also declared a fiscal emergency Monday, a necessary step for holding a tax vote in a year when there is no council election on the ballot. City officials say Pacifica's budget problems stem in part from state take-aways and lagging property and sales tax revenues."
Note: photograph from High Definition Wallpapers.
Posted by Kathy Meeh
8 comments:
Pacifica has been in a fiscal emergency for the last 20 years. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. They have lived off welfare, grants and begging the state for money. Money that was used to fix the infastructure went into the general fund. The reason why we have a broke down sewer plant, pot hole filled roads and a crumbling sewer system through town.
Julia Scott, did a much better job and wasn't afraid of the 'gang of no' city council.
Meanwhile we start new inexperienced police cadets off at $90,000 + OT and benefits. We have 10 police captains and sergeants making over $170,000.
We are not Oakland or SF, there's no reason to pay police at these levels in a town where the most serious crime lately was some cars vandalized. Cops will work here for much less money because it is a much lower stress lower risk laid back job.
Close Date: Continuous
Salary: $6,189.00 - $7,809.00 Monthly
CITY OF pacifica
IS ESTABLISHING AN ELIGIBILITY LIST
FOR THE POSITION OF
POLICE OFFICER
Negotiate an outsourcing agreement that makes sense. We will be better served and safer like Millbrae, San Carlos and Half Moon Bay and we'll save a bundle if you negotiate well. Lock in increases at 2% a year for 10 years. Our PD will also have more job security.
Win Win Win
I have a proposition, anon 7:58:
Identify yourself and then apply for a Pacifica PO position. If you get hired, I'll pay you $1000, AND you'll have one of those great PD jobs that just anyone without qualifications can get.
Council said we already made big cuts. The numbers don't bear that out
Amount spent on total wages by Pacifica
2009
$18,101,855
2010
$18,174,709
2011
$18,434,878
So if we really eliminated 50 jobs AND we reduced wages and benefits like council said why did we increase by over $300,000 in 2 years.
http://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/Cities/City.aspx?entityid=437&fiscalyear=2009
@946 well that's the question, isn't it? all those cuts they claim and we're still paying more than ever. compare the rosters from those 3 years and you'll see the "cuts" were at the end of the payroll--part-time, seasonal, $10 an hour, etc. BFD! once in a while someone would retire and maybe they'd combine duties with other people but that's rare. or, they outsource tree work and then move those employees to the WWTP where they no longer appear on city payroll because it's a different, ahem, fund. yeah, the sewer fund. the city payroll is a joke, on the taxpayer. pass this tax giving council unrestricted funds and the joke just gets bigger.
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