Hollister voters had their say last month on Measure R, the
ballot item that would have generated an estimated
$4 million annually in sales tax to pay for city services.
What the voters said was an emphatic
”
no.
”
Hollister voters had their say last month on Measure R, the ballot item that would have generated an estimated
$4 million annually in sales tax to pay for city services.
What the voters said was an emphatic “no.”
That leaves the city facing a $2.7 million budget deficit heading into 2007. As the City Council begins wrestling with the specifics of where and how much to cut, it’s time for Hollister residents to have their say again.
The council is hosting a workshop tonight to discuss the deficit and begin setting budget priorities. The council needs to hear from the people who will be living with the coming cuts, and tonight’s workshop, which begins at 6pm at City Hall, is the forum to voice that input.
Before the Nov. 7 vote on Measure R, City Manager Clint Quilter outlined potential cuts. At the head of the list, at least in terms of potential savings, were police and animal control, which together could take a $1.2 million budget hit.
That would involve elimination of the police department’s gang prevention and intervention program, elimination of proactive policing, elimination of property crime investigation, elimination of drug crime investigation and a reduction of office hours to 25 hours per week. In addition, animal control’s spay and neuter program would be eliminated.
Also on the list: closure of all park restrooms, elimination of pothole repair, elimination of the fire department’s truck company and elimination of the recreation department.
The options aren’t pretty. As Police Chief Jeff Miller said before the election, “The city is in dire financial straits right now, and they’ve already cut to the bone. If Measure R doesn’t pass, we will be cutting the bone.”
So it would seem that the time has come to start making decisions about which bones will be cut and how deeply.
It seems almost incomprehensible that we might be facing such drastic cuts to something so basic and important as police services. But that would appear to be the post-election reality.
City voters made their decision on Measure R. Now it’s time for those same folks to make their voices heard on how we’ll all live with that decision.
