Congratulations to the City of Hollister for cutting its General
Fund outlays by almost 12.5 percent, especially for the reductions
in expensive and often unnecessary overtime. Unfortunately, at this
late stage, the city cannot merely cut its way out of its financial
difficulties.
Congratulations to the City of Hollister for cutting its General Fund outlays by almost 12.5 percent, especially for the reductions in expensive and often unnecessary overtime. Unfortunately, at this late stage, the city cannot merely cut its way out of its financial difficulties.
The city has repeatedly stated that is has a major structural deficit. That means when economic conditions are normal,the city’s income cannot cover its expenses.
Structural deficits require structural solutions, but few were proposed during the more than six hours of budget hearings. The income projections and projected savings were certainly nowhere near the amount required to offset the upcoming budget imbalance.
One of the changes to the budget was the elimination of the position of Economic Development Manager Jeff Pyle. There was good reason for this change – the office has been very ineffective due to poor mission, a lack of performance standards and ineffective city management. In 2006, the manager stated that it was his job to use the economic development portion of the Community Development Block Grant funding effectively. Those funds are still in limbo today even though the city has been desperate for economic stimulus.
Now that the city government has eliminated its internal office of economic development, it must make sure that it does not treat the Economic Development Corp. of San Benito County with the same kind of benign neglect and laissez-faire attitude that it previously demonstrated toward this critical issue.
As a primary funding source for the EDC, the city must exercise its management responsibilities by demanding periodic, detailed reporting and results. Â
