Amador County - The Jackson City Council heard a Budget Update from City Manager Mike Daly last week, who said shortfalls in revenue have resulted in a “continuing decline” in its General Fund. Daly said the main culprit is income from sales tax, which has declined more than expected. “We were projecting that we would receive $550,000 in revenues this year and we noticed that our returns the first few months were not living up to this,” said Daly. To make matters worse, irregularities in the monthly sales tax payments with the State Board of Equalization are resulting in a further drop in revenues. These discrepancies credited various sales tax streams outside city limits to Jackson instead of Amador County. Based on information received by the City last week, the city will lose approximately $178,000 because of this discrepancy. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to wave our magic wand and create revenue, but we’re trying,” said Daly. Any kind of tax increase requires a vote by the City Council. The Christmas Delights open house event in downtown Jackson last weekend drew attention to many struggling businesses. Daly said he saw good crowds at the event but is still awaiting feedback from business owners. Earlier this year, the city made “significant cuts and conservative revenue projections” in an effort to achieve a balanced budget. These include reducing every General Fund Department to the bare minimum for non-personnel operating costs, meeting with employees to discuss options for reductions in personnel costs, reducing the city’s contributions to outside agencies like the Amador County Recreation Agency, reducing retiree health insurance, reducing training budgets, and suspending the City Council’s monthly “salary” of $75. Councilmember Keith Sweet said “last time was a tough call taking (money) out of retirees pay, but this time could be a helluva lot worse.” Daly said the City’s General Fund balance is currently “just above zero” but that number will change after “big chunk payments” in January, including property tax income. He said the council will continue to discuss strategies to balance next year’s budget in upcoming meetings. The next council meeting is Monday, December 14 at 7 pm in Jackson City Hall. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.