Amador County – Jackson City Council received a budget report Monday that said the general fund is a little over $3 million, business licenses are up and other revenues have “held their own,” as the council prepares to work on the coming budget.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi said he would like to take a “hard line” on balancing the budget to include some of the numbers last year where they “missed the target.” He said he would like to plug that into the budget this year and make adjustments accordingly, so they “avoid depleting the general fund.”
Vice Mayor Keith Sweet said he would like to see $25,000 borrowed from the “park in lieu fee” and get a fraternal club to build fencing around the Kennedy Mine tailing wheel.
Sweet said the Wheel Foundation met for the second time and is looking at constructing a cover building for the wheel, paving the parking lot and making it ADA compliant. He said cost estimates have been anywhere from $300,000 to $1.3 million.
Garibaldi said he would like to “find a way to legitimize using the park and recreation funds.” He said the city is “struggling to use that to restore one of our assets that we can’t reproduce.” He said they should use the funds on the wheels, and not consider it a loan, but rather a park & rec project. Councilman Pat Crew said: “I’m all for that project myself.”
City Manager Mike Daly gave a budget review Monday, saying “most revenues that come into the general fund are affected by the local economic conditions.” There has been a 60 percent sales tax drop in the five years since Prospect Motors left the city.
The general fund has “a little over $3 million,” he said, and “a big part of that is property tax. I think everybody has seen the impact of foreclosures on the housing market.” Home owners who bought their home for $300,000 in 2006 may see similar homes now sell for $150,000.
Daly said property taxes and franchise fees have “held their own,” and business licenses are up. There is also a $112,000 dent in the general fund from the loss of the gas tax swap. He said our state legislators are working with the city and Amador County to address that. The county’s loss is about $1.3 million.
Daly said redistricting has started, and the senate districting draft map “kind of cut off the Foothills from the valley,” and Assemblywoman Alyson Huber and Senator Ted Gaines “would stay with the valley district.” Daly said it’s just a draft, “but they have done a lot of work on it.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
