HOLLISTER
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors today will consider postponing the fiscal year 2009-10 budget hearings until Aug. 3 pending the outcome of the statewide special election this month rather than on the scheduled date of June 9.
County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson said that the county is waiting to get the revised budget from the governor. Two budgets will be presented. One will be if all the measures pass and one if they don’t.
In either scenario, the state argues it can opt to waive Proposition 1A to balance its budget. The proposition was passed in 2004 and protects local governments revenue for valued government services. By waiving 1A, the state could borrow funds from local governments and pay them back over time with interest. Thompson said the idea of the state paying back would be “hard to see.”
The state could draw upward of $1.7 million from the county budget, Thompson said. With a general fund of only $40 million, she said, “It’s almost impossible to project revenues.”
“We can proceed to move forward using ideas for cost savings but we don’t know how deep we have to go and how significant it will be,” Thompson said.
Normally, budget hearings would be held in June. The county may know what is happening with their funds by June but Thompson said it “would be tough to turn the budget around by then.” She added that there needs to be public hearings so the public can speak.
Also on the agenda:
The board will also consider a resolution to establish fees for registration of price scanners or point-of-sale stations in all county stores. County Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich said this resolution will lower fees for stores with fewer scanners and increase fees for “larger box stores.”
“This is an incentive because the economy is not good,” Matulich said. “Mainly (Supervisors) Reb Monaco and (Anthony) Botelho (support this) for next year to help out the small business guy.”
According to Matulich, every store that has a price scanner pays a different amount varying on the number the store uses. For one to three scanners, the price is $150 per year; for four to eight scanners, the price is $200; and for nine or more, the price is $250.
Matulich could not say how much the fees would be lowered or raised to until it is approved by the board, but did say that the prices will be lowered “for the smaller two and a slight increase over a three-year period for nine or more.”
Matulich said the agriculture department does inspections throughout the year on price scanners to make sure prices are ringing up correctly to match advertised sale prices. If a store fails an inspection, it would be “liable for fines, lawsuits and consumer protection laws.”
The board of supervisors meets at 9 a.m. in the County Board of Supervisors Chambers at the County Administrative Building, 481 Fourth St.
