Getting through the recession
It's not officially a "recession" yet, but the signs of the downturn are spreading. This week, the City Council unanimously took another decisive step to ensure Ventura's financial sustainability. Earlier this year, the Council cut operational spending by $1.9 million and cancelled or deferred projects totalling $2.35. Hiring was frozen.
On Monday, the Council adopted nearly $4 million in recommended reductions for next year's budget (which begins July 1.) Some of those savings will be implemented immediately, others will be phased in. Decisions on the remaining $300,000 in recommended cuts was carried over until May 29. On that date, the Council will also consider our recommendation for a one-week closure of City Hall between Christmas and New Year's Day and shifting to a schedule where City offices have longer hours, but are closed every other Friday.
These actions will ensure a balanced budget next year, based on current financial projections. But no one knows how long or how severe this recession will be. The Federal Reserve and international financial institutions moved aggressively to meet the threats to global credit markets and Congress is moving toward final action on a package designed to stem the rising tide of home foreclosures. But with gas and food prices up sharply, consumer confidence has plummeted.
So we need to look ahead to a longer-term plan for weathering the recession. That's why the City Council is undertaking a community dialogue on our priorities.
Nearly everyone agrees we need to tighten our belt. But when it comes to actual cuts, the howls are heard. Imposing new or higher fees to recover costs has proven unpopular, to say the least. There is no shortage of voices insisting on their viewpoint -- but the diversity of opinions is bewildering, especially since little of it is grounded in actually understanding Ventura's budget realities.
Is the community hopelessly divided on how we should manage our budget -- or is there a sensible consensus? We need to find out.
Bickering and feuding is no way to get through tough times. Now is the time to find a way to pull together. Click on the City's website on how you can participate in this important opportunity to shape the kind of community we want -- and the kind of community we will leave to the next generation:
posted by Rick Cole at
10:11 AM
2 Comments:
I read in the SFP that the City will pay a fire department manager $750,000 as a fine for an unfair dismissal case related to disability. Can you please explain how this will impact the city budget? Can the city appeal this crazy ruling that pays someone a windfall like this. Its completely unfair to the public who end up funding this type of lottery win.
In the short run, the settlement won't have an impact on the budget because over the years we've prudently accumulated a "self-insurance" fund that will cover the costs. Of course, the fund needs to be replenished and pay-outs affect the formula for how much we set aside each year.
I agree with you about the unfairness of the legal remedies in this case -- with the taxpayers footing the bill. But what triggered this rare event is primarily the disparities between laws we rely on to curb workers comp abuse and laws that employees rely on to protect them when they have legitimate disabilities.
We are very vigorous in trying to hold down workers comp costs -- and we were overzealous in this case, relying on faulty outside legal advice. The reason we settled the case is that in front of a jury, we might have faced an even bigger verdict.
We've learned from the experience, although it's important not to learn the wrong lesson. We need to continue to be vigilant, not only of workers comp costs, but of workers rights.
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