When the recession hit, deadlock in Sacramento made progress nearly impossible, and Schwarzenegger left office with low approval ratings.
Two years ago, 13 rams for City Council seemed like something to try and might even be some fun. This year, only four are vying for two empty seats, with one incumbent, Gary Bric, trying for re-election. Suddenly this job is not as much fun and gags as one would have thought in the past.
I called Deputy City Manager Joy Forbes and asked her what the council is looking at this coming year while the income continues to shrink and the expenses continue to rise.
Forbes is always upbeat, but she knows there are some tough times ahead, like an expected $8.8-million deficit for the upcoming budget, which has already been cut six out of the eight past years. in The council will also have to deal with pension reforms like the rest of the state. There are also recurring expenses that will have to be dealt with.
She also pointed out that there are sources of revenue coming in from visitors — parking fees and the so-called hotel bed tax — that could be raised. The council could also impose new fees on residents.
Now when it comes to the forum tonight, I have found the questions in the past to be very "vanilla," and this year I have some hard questions that I would like to hear answered. Also, the way it has been set up in the past, not everyone answers the same question, so it is hard to compare the candidates.
Let's get some answers to these questions:
1. City services have already been decreased in many areas (like libraries) for years with little left to work with. If it came down to an either/or situation, would you cut some services completely (and which ones first), or lay off employees?
