Amador County – The Jackson City Council unanimously adopted the City’s annual budget on Monday, with the good news being that no further cuts will be necessary in the near future. “The bottom line is that the severe cuts made last year mean the General Fund is ‘in the black’ and no further cuts are necessary, however, none of the cuts made last year have been restored yet either,” said City Manager Mike Daly. During last year’s budget review, the council decided to freeze some positions, implement a two-day-per-month employee furlough, reduce some retiree benefits and eliminate all capitol improvement project expenditures.
At a fiscal mid-year budget review in December, the council went one step further by freezing one police officer position and reducing the City’s workforce by three employees. In a staff report Monday, Daly said all this “was required to balance expenditures with the worsening revenues.” Of the City’s key revenue sources, only sales tax is on the rebound, with the last 12 months of revenue exceeding the budget projection and coming in at $585,631. Daly said what is more concerning is that property taxes decreased by over 5 percent from $827,050 to $786,056, and a “further decline to $766,000 is projected due to lower assessed values driven by the foreclosure market and the end of the federal homebuyers tax credit program.” Daly said that “after three years of plummeting General Fund revenues, it does appear that some ‘bottoming out’ is occurring, but there is still plenty of fluctuation in the general taxes and fees that constitute the regular portion of this fund.” Jackson’s General Fund is expected to finish with a positive balance this year, and revenues are expected to exceed expenditures by $88,955. When considering the projected mid-year budget deficit of $264,000 and implemented reductions, the final deficit for fiscal year 2009-10 was reduced to $40,574. Another positive note is that the city is receiving much-needed assistance through a number of federal and state grant programs that will fund one officer’s salary for three years and various road improvement projects. Measure N, a ½ cent sales tax approved by County voters last November for fire services, will allow the City to hire four full-time firefighters. The City Council will also continue suspension of its monthly salary of $75 per month ($100 for the Mayor), saving approximately $5,600 in salary and payroll taxes next year. Daly said the “wild card” is the State of California, which is now facing a $19 billion budget deficit and missed its statutory budget deadline of June 15. The newly approved 2010-11 budget does not include restoration of reductions in positions, furloughs, or benefits. “Though it is good that revenues have stabilized enough to avoid further cuts, the previous reductions in staff required by General Fund revenue declines will continue to hamper the City’s ability to provide services to the community,” said Daly. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County – The Jackson City Council unanimously adopted the City’s annual budget on Monday, with the good news being that no further cuts will be necessary in the near future. “The bottom line is that the severe cuts made last year mean the General Fund is ‘in the black’ and no further cuts are necessary, however, none of the cuts made last year have been restored yet either,” said City Manager Mike Daly. During last year’s budget review, the council decided to freeze some positions, implement a two-day-per-month employee furlough, reduce some retiree benefits and eliminate all capitol improvement project expenditures.
At a fiscal mid-year budget review in December, the council went one step further by freezing one police officer position and reducing the City’s workforce by three employees. In a staff report Monday, Daly said all this “was required to balance expenditures with the worsening revenues.” Of the City’s key revenue sources, only sales tax is on the rebound, with the last 12 months of revenue exceeding the budget projection and coming in at $585,631. Daly said what is more concerning is that property taxes decreased by over 5 percent from $827,050 to $786,056, and a “further decline to $766,000 is projected due to lower assessed values driven by the foreclosure market and the end of the federal homebuyers tax credit program.” Daly said that “after three years of plummeting General Fund revenues, it does appear that some ‘bottoming out’ is occurring, but there is still plenty of fluctuation in the general taxes and fees that constitute the regular portion of this fund.” Jackson’s General Fund is expected to finish with a positive balance this year, and revenues are expected to exceed expenditures by $88,955. When considering the projected mid-year budget deficit of $264,000 and implemented reductions, the final deficit for fiscal year 2009-10 was reduced to $40,574. Another positive note is that the city is receiving much-needed assistance through a number of federal and state grant programs that will fund one officer’s salary for three years and various road improvement projects. Measure N, a ½ cent sales tax approved by County voters last November for fire services, will allow the City to hire four full-time firefighters. The City Council will also continue suspension of its monthly salary of $75 per month ($100 for the Mayor), saving approximately $5,600 in salary and payroll taxes next year. Daly said the “wild card” is the State of California, which is now facing a $19 billion budget deficit and missed its statutory budget deadline of June 15. The newly approved 2010-11 budget does not include restoration of reductions in positions, furloughs, or benefits. “Though it is good that revenues have stabilized enough to avoid further cuts, the previous reductions in staff required by General Fund revenue declines will continue to hamper the City’s ability to provide services to the community,” said Daly. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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