It’s not a pretty picture, especially on the verge of
Christmas.
But we have to commend our City Manager Dale Shaddox for his
continuing efforts and candor in dealing with lost revenues and
budget cuts for the new year.
To make it worse, the state situation
– and the corresponding numbers – keep changing on an almost
daily basis, making it a moving target that is even more difficult
to hit.
Shaddox recently sent out a letter to 175 city employees
explaining the predicament the city is in.
It’s not a pretty picture, especially on the verge of Christmas.
But we have to commend our City Manager Dale Shaddox for his continuing efforts and candor in dealing with lost revenues and budget cuts for the new year.
To make it worse, the state situation – and the corresponding numbers – keep changing on an almost daily basis, making it a moving target that is even more difficult to hit.
Shaddox recently sent out a letter to 175 city employees explaining the predicament the city is in.
It was honest and forthright, something we have appreciated from Shaddox since he took over the listing city ship last May.
Obviously, no one wants to see any layoffs now or in the future, especially with a jump in population looming and so many city services already stretched thin.
But local municipalities keep getting clobbered by the state, most recently being the expected loss of about $738,000 in vehicle license fee taxes for Hollister.
Predictably and understandably, many departments are defending their turf and even lobbying to avoid staff cuts in their area.
Again, we sympathize and caution against lessening public safety in our city.
Several recent fires and some alarming statistics suggest the fire department should be last on the chopping block.
The General Fund is still a considerable chunk of money at $9 million. Certainly, it would be nice to keep all or most of it in reserve for more expected shortfalls and any unexpected emergencies.
There is no obvious answer, which Shaddox is addressing.
Several of the ideas – early retirement plans, for example – are sound ones and it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on similar-sized cities in the state that are facing the same dilemma and their potential solutions.
Shaddox should continue to work with department heads and the City Council ad hoc subcommittee on reaching the best possible plan.
In the meantime, city workers and department heads shouldn’t make Shaddox out to be any kind of Scrooge when he is working with expertise, honesty and integrity for the betterment of Hollister and all of its citizens.
