06/30/2010: "Council Learns Depth Of Debt"

At the end of a presentation Tuesday by SJC Auditor Milene Henley that listed eye-popping “alternatives to balance the budget, the County Council voted on a recommendation to “Prepare 2011 budget to be $550,000 less than 2010 budget;” and, they also voted to reduce the current 2010 budget by $264,721.

But as the late night TV ads say “But wait, there’s more!” Henley said in addition to the approved $264,721 reduction, one way to “achieve balance” is to “reduce, additionally..$2.3 million over the next seven years.

Henley presented a possible reduction schedule for 2011, continuing to 2016:

� $289,000 in 2011
� $398,000 in 2012
� $376,000 in 2013
� $368,000 in 2014
� $280,000 in 2015
� $301,000 in 2016

Henley then gave some other examples -but not suggesting any of them were her recommendations- of possible “alternatives” to “make the budget consistent with 6-year sustainability planning horizon’

Eliminate COLA for all employees
OR
Eliminate ~24 FTEs (17% of CE employees), at all levels over 6 years
OR
Get voters to agree to property tax increases over the next 6 years of:
* 12% in 2011
* 8.5% in 2012
* 7% in 2013
* 6% in 2014
* 4% in 2015
* 5% in 2016
OR
Some combination of these and other options."

The alternatives were graphic examples of just how serious the financial impacts of the recession have been to governments, and specifically to San Juan County.

After Henley’s presentation, the council also voted to: Address dichotomy between expenditure/revenue growth; to the extent possible, cost reductions should be structural, not temporary establish levels of service consistent with reductions; present draft budget by October 1; make the budget consistent with 6-year sustainability planning horizon, and include plan to reduce "Road Shift to Zero dollars." That will result in more money for Public Works, but less money for running the rest of county government.