Hollister City Council members chewed over the proposal Monday
and asked staff members to make some adjustments before the next
meeting April 28.
The city over the next two years would add to its ranks eight sworn police officers, five firefighters, several clerical jobs, more maintenance workers, a recreation coordinator and many other positions under the Measure T spending plan council members are set to consider.
It’s a two-year expenditure proposal released this week that would ease many residents’ concerns over lacking public safety, allow more handy work to get done on equipment and lead to some city offices reopening on Fridays after they had been closed for a day each week due to massive, annual budget cuts.
Hollister City Council members chewed over the proposal Monday and asked staff members to make some adjustments before the next meeting April 28. City Manager Clint Quilter said today the council could be set to approve a plan in early May. Council members likely will have some tough decisions to make considering the additional dollar amounts they now have at their disposal – an estimated $2.8 million for 2008-09 and another $3.5 million the following year.
The extra funds will come from the 1 percent sales tax increase voters approved overwhelmingly as Measure T on the November ballot.
Hollister will add employees for the next two years, while Measure T dollars will continue flowing in until 2013 when the 1 percent tax sunsets. Officials are counting on an economic recovery by that time, especially with the building moratorium’s lifting set for some point this year.
“One of the problems is, you can’t just keep adding and adding and adding, because after five years the money goes away,” Quilter said.
Much of the Measure T conversation before the election revolved around Hollister’s need for more police officers in light of a rapidly rising murder and crime rate. Quilter’s proposal heavily takes that need into consideration – with $641,000 pegged for police department hires this next fiscal year alone.
The fire department’s additional cost with its five new positions in 2008-09 would come to about $295,000. The community services department’s added workers actually would cost slightly more – with two new maintenance workers and a resurrected recreation coordinator position, along with others, contributing to the $302,000 tab.
Once the council approves a plan, a citizens oversight committee will have the task of making sure council members are appropriately spending the extra dollars.
See Friday’s Free Lance for an expanded version of this story and a lengthier list of positions in the proposal.
