Hollister
– A leaking City Hall roof is just one thing the Mission City
won’t be able to fix with its proposed 2007-08 budget.
Hollister – A leaking City Hall roof is just one thing the Mission City won’t be able to fix with its proposed 2007-08 budget.
San Juan Bautista’s City Council is expected to vote on next year’s budget for tentative approval at tonight’s meeting at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 311 2nd St. The budget calls for no additional cuts from those earlier this year, but the city will continue operating with only expenses that are absolutely necessary, officials said.
The budget, proposed at $933,509 for the general fund, is still only tentative and will not be finalized until the state approves its budget.
“It’s basically no fluff. We’re balancing (the budget) by not spending money on anything,” City Manager Jan McClintock said.
The city will be looking at ways to compensate for the lack of funding, including potential tax increases in the future, McClintock said.
“We will be looking at proposals to fill that temporary gap in revenue while we attempt to revitalize,” McClintock said. “How can we restructure our city’s baseline economy and make San Juan a healthy city in the future?
“You need temporary funding in order to do that revitalization.”
City Councilman Ed Laverone said officials may begin looking at a possible tax increase before the end of the summer.
Until a tax hike proposal is introduced, the city will continue to operate with only emergency expenditures, McClintock said. Costs such as city landscaping, city parks and fixing the leaking city hall roof all will be shelved until there’s more money.
“If it rains, there are buckets in the City Council chambers,” McClintock said.
She added that much of the city and park upkeep is now being run by volunteers.
“There has been a lot of community spirit coming out. As long as the budget can balance, it can limp – as long as we have the volunteers to (help).”
Cuts to many services in San Juan Bautista were made earlier this year. Those cuts were made because of a decline in tourist traffic leading to a decrease in the city’s income over the past years – and a risk the city could go broke.
The City Council approved a decrease to library and City Hall hours and to eliminate some city positions.
Laverone said he felt the budget was one of the first true budgets the city had introduced in recent years.
“It’s a realistic budget,” he said. “We should be looking at treating it not much different than our own money. We need to be preventative in having a reserve, and also responsible.”
If the city continues to be fiscally conservative, Laverone said, it could be on track to have money in reserves and be moderately healthy in the next two to four years.
“We’re a long way from where we should be, but I think we have a good foundation,” Laverone said.
