| Monterey County, CA | November 4, 2014 Election |
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Fiscal Responsibility and Measures E and FBy David W. BrownCandidate for Member, City Council; City of Marina |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
I will continue to guard against a tendency toward increased budgets, after four years of work to bring the budget under control. While I endorse Measures E and F that would, if approved, continue the sales-tax and TOT (hotel/motel taxes) approved overwhelmingly by Marina voters in 2010, we still need to be wary of Staff-proposed spending increases, now that our budghet is on track to be balanced for the first time in a decade.I feel that my position on budget issues is made more clear with a brief historical background. Over five years, starting with the city's 2005-6 fiscal-year budget of $9.4 Million, to the current general-fund budget of over $16 Million, Marina's population has increased less than 5%, but its budget expenditures have increased about 70%. The budget deficit each year (the amount borrowed or taken from capital funds obtained from the sale of Fort Ord lands) mushroomed from a mere $8,922 (FY 2005-6) to almost five million dollars (FY 2010-11) ++ an increase of 56,000%. That is no misprint. The yearly deficit, over the five years of 2005 - 2010 had increased Fifty-Six Thousand Percent from a few thousand dollars to a few million dollars, a 560-fold increase! What happened? What happened was that in 2006-2007, the City received about $12 Million (too little, in fact) from the sale of Fort Ord lands, and the past Council majority went on a spending spree, increasing its budget expenditures from $9.4 Million (FY 2005-6) to $15.6 Million (FY 2006-7) ++ a 66% increase ++ in just one year. Since that time, until 2011, yearly budgets ranged between some $13 Million (FY 2007-8, 2008,9) and $15 Million (2010-11), and deficits have ranged between some $1 Million (FY 2008-9) and almost $5 Million (2010-2011). These deficits were funded by taking money each year mostly from the Fort-Ord land-sale proceeds, which are now almost exhausted. The Councils of 2006 through 2008) guessed ++ wrongly ++ that the massive developments they approved would generate tax revenue that would kick in by the time the $12 Million proceeds were exhausted. However, the subsequent decline in housing values stymied development. After Measures M and N (sales tax and TOT increases, respectively) were approved by voters in November 2010, the approximately $2 Million each year in new tax revenues didn't go very far in addressing what amounted, in 2010, to an ongoing structural deficit that approached $5 Million at one point. That deficit is now on track, for the first time in a decade, to zero, thanks to our progressive majority. If re-elected, hope to move somewhat more in the direction of fiscal austerity, while encouraging and being part of more of a consensus on budget issues. When asking for your vote in 2010, I proposed that in addition to cuts proposed by City staff, the City explore terminating many consultant contracts, and this has been accomplished to a substantial extent. I also proposed cutting executive staff salaries, which at least, at the city-manager level, I was proud to help accomplish. I also proposed moving Staff out of the Strategic Development Center, saving the City $300,000 annual rent, which has occurred this past month. |
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 5, 2014 10:37
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