There's a tremendous challenge facing Mayor Steve Glickman and the Los Gatos Town Council this year—to come up with a budget despite a projected revenue shortfall that could reach between $1.5 and $3.2 million.
The challenge is not so much balancing the budget as it is determining where cuts must be made to keep the town's fiscal stability in check.
The town has been trimming the budget for the last three years, but this year it appears that the cuts will slice right to the bone—the elimination of some town services and the potential loss of personnel.
The mayor and the other council members remain optimistic that such cuts can occur without any major inconveniences to residents. Glickman is making it clear that cuts to police and library services will be minimized because of the public's concern over the two agencies.
He was quick to point out Councilwoman Diane McNutt's concern over potential cuts to police services. According to Glickman, McNutt indicated that if cuts went too deep in the police department that it would upset her "comfort level," and the rest of the council agreed.
Sandy Decker insists that whatever cuts must be made, residents will still get their "money's worth" in town, and Joe Pirzynski added that the current level of service provided by the town may be "unreasonable" and that cuts could be inevitable.
But Councilman Mike Wasserman voiced concern over the bigger picture—the dark cloud that hangs over Los Gatos and other California cities ... the fiscal mess facing the state government. Wasserman's concern is that "when the state falls short, they pick your town's pocket."
The state has certainly fallen short, and now it's looking into the pockets of local government.
California has already tapped into Los Gatos to the tune of half a million dollars in local property taxes, but now, the state's looking to grab another $385,000 of that local property tax. As if that's not bad enough, the state threatens to dip into the town's general fund to steal sales tax revenues.
It's enough to worry Wasserman and the other council members enough that they are supporting a measure put forth by the League of California Cities that would limit the state's access to city and town revenues. The council is supporting the Local Taxpayers and Public Safety Protection Act 2004. The act would force the state to take any request for local funds to the voters before borrowing from any municipality.
The backers of the act and other supporters are canvassing the state in hopes of getting enough signatures by the April 15 deadline to get the measure on the November 2004 ballot. The voters would then decide if the state should have the right to cover its losses by taking revenues from towns and cities.
It time to get Sacramento's hands out of the local till. The Los Gatos Weekly-Times urges residents to support the Local Taxpayers and Public Safety Protection Act 2004 and keep the state accountable for its economic actions.
