| San Mateo County, CA | November 3, 2009 Election |
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BUDGETBy Bertha Hall SanchezCandidate for City Council; City of San Mateo |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
With our general economic in such flux, our State Government is hurting and they have taken away or borrowing certain funds from local government. This is affecting the San Mateo City Budget.The general fund of our city budget is what pays for the various departments of our city: fire, police, park and rec,, public works, community development, finance, etc. Because of the downturn in our economy, many cities have had to tighten their belts about expenditures. San Mateo is one of those cities which has had to make some tough choices in how to balance its budget. State take-aways have compounded our situation. Our city hasn't filled over 60 positions in the last 4-6 years which has reduced our payroll to a certain extent. Recent shortening of library and recreation center hours were done to reduce expenditures. City management and employees have deferred any pay increases to help out in this present crisis. The passage of Measure L&M which is on this Nov. ballot will help our city bridge the latest gap of about 4 million dollars. 1. Measure L - one quarter percent increase in sales tax which is 25 cents for every $100. I do not normally favor a lot of taxes but I can support this measure because it has a sunset clause of 8 years (and it goes away) and it will help to bridge our present deficit. 2. Measure M - 2% increase in hotel occupancy tax from 10% to 12% also deserves a YES vote. Hotel visitors will be paying the tax and it is generally in line with hotel taxes by other cities along the Peninsula. 3. If any future budget cuts have to take place, I would try to protect our Park & Rec. dept. which services many programs for youths and seniors as well as to the general public. Our seniors area a vulnerable part of our society. We need to provide Youth programs to help keep them out of trouble. Fire and Police especially those on the front lines need to be kept. If cuts have to be considered, I would look more into management cuts. How could we utilize more volunteers without jeopardizing front line jobs. 4. I would ask the staff of various departments (not just the managers) what suggestions they might have about reducing their budget and how could their department become more efficient. 5. We should look for more grants where possible to fund some of our needed projects. 6. We definitely need citizen input to any budget problems/concerns. So I would encourage more outreach to our residents. Who knows, they might have a creative way for a solution to the problem. Communication, access and balance between residents and city officials are key ingredients to having a good, caring and efficient city. |
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ca/sm Created from information supplied by the candidate: November 1, 2009 07:58
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