Anyone ever notice when there are budget cuts to be made, the politicians and bureaucrats generally pick those items to cut that are the core services (ie public safety, roads, education, parks) instead of going through the budget line by line and cutting administration? Why would that be? Because these folks don’t want to change the way they do business – they want to cause some pain so that the tax increase they invariably suggest sounds more reasonable.
This time around it’s the City of Vista, which is facing a $9 million budget gap. Their answer? Turn half of the street lights off. Not pick a citizen’s committee to identify waste, fraud, and abuse in the current budget. Not go through the budget cutting things the insiders may want, but which aren’t the core job of city government. And this is from a “Republican” council, by the way.
These days people seem a bit more peeved with these sort of government antics than they have been in the past. Note that Mayor Sanders and the labor council and the “greater” San Diego Chamber of Commerce tried just these sort of scare tactics when they wanted to raise taxes with Measure D. It was soundly defeated. This action in Vista, which is making national news, is begging for a citizen’s revolt. Who wants to lead it?
Comments 1
I’m supportive of a Vista voter revolt, but I’m not moving there to lead it!
The key is controlling employee compensation — pay and benefits. If that is pretty much off the table, then it’s “game over.”
More likely the city council will conclude that there is nothing they can do to materially improve spending in this area — which likely constitutes about 80%-85% of the city budget (when you properly account for the unfunded liabilities for employee perks).
Oh sure, the politicians will posture and get some token concessions. But ultimately they listen to their city manager. And the city manager (like most such cities) is the one who profits most from city spending on pay and pensions. City managers are loved and revered — and usually are the ones most responsible for a city’s unwise spending decisions.