Hollister’s Redevelopment Agency might have about $4 million
less to use on economic development this year with the state
indicating its plans to swipe away the funds, while council members
have the task of cutting about 10 percent of the general fund
budget as they prepare to slash a $1.6 million deficit.
HOLLISTER
Hollister’s Redevelopment Agency might have about $4 million less to use on economic development this year with the state indicating its plans to swipe away the funds, while council members have the task of cutting about 10 percent of the general fund budget as they prepare to slash a $1.6 million deficit.
The most immediate effect on basic services, however, likely will come from the inevitable cuts on the way in the general fund, its primary cost being employee compensation. Council members have little choice considering the general fund reserve – $15 million strong just seven years ago – is on the verge of going bankrupt.
City Manager Clint Quilter indicated he had started talks with unions about potential concessions, but he declined to comment on specifics. Quilter did acknowledge officials have included more than $2 million in Measure T sales tax revenue – which sunsets in 2013 – in the city’s $1.6 million deficit projection. Voters approved the 1 percent hike in November 2007, but it expires after five years.
“I think there’s a lot of work to do between now and then to start discussing that,” he said. “Certainly the fact it sunsets is something we consider as we move forward.”
City officials still are on track to revise the budget in October as they have planned, Quilter said. There are no other figures from the state or elsewhere to examine at this point. Retail numbers, he noted, are about where city officials had estimated, around 18 percent down from last year.
“We’re just trying to get it together,” he said. “The things we can do, we’ll do. A lot of it will take until October.”
The hit to the RDA remains up in the air to some extent. State officials have indicated the intention to take between $3.9 million and $4.5 million – in funds allocated toward economic development – as they attempt to close their own deficit.
The California Redevelopment Association has been challenging the state’s efforts since last year, when the state attempted to take RDA funds from local jurisdictions such as Hollister. So far, the CRA has prevailed through the appeals court level, and now there’s an expectation the matter will go before the California Supreme Court, Quilter said.
“It’s a big piece of what we get this year,” he said.
Look back for more on this story, and look for an expanded story in the Free Lance on Tuesday.
