By now, you must know that I will not give up on the city budget. The mayor takes a cavalier approach to the budget. This is not new, but this time it is very serious.
Mayor Patterson’s sidekick, Vice Mayor Young, seems to side– no pun intended– with he approach. Meanwhile, the three other members of the council all agree we do have a budget problem. The mayor’s approach to managing the city finances is to just ignore it and talk about environmental issues that suit her agenda-driven, progressive Democratic ideals. That approach does not solve the financial crisis we are about to see in the budget years of 2019-20 and 2020-21.
A good example of wasted staff time is the demolition process of the so-called historic buildings on the Amports site. Now for about a year, even though the pending appeal was denied, there will be further delay until the potential lawsuit is resolved. Sorry, Mayor Patterson, you put this city in great jeopardy with your agenda-driven ideals.
Another example is Mayor Patterson’s push to get a city ISO, which should not be a top priority. BAAQMD and the state ISO cover that. The sanctuary city issue is another example. Take a look at what happened in Oakland and learn a lesson on illegal immigration.
The city manager clearly stated and affirmed the issue of the budget crisis. Remember when I asked if we have a budget issue, and she agreed and even said for the Priority Based Budgeting to work we needed a balanced budget? PBB is a very good tool when the budget is balanced and we move forward with these priorities. The steps moving forward for the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 budget being put in place are very good. It will determine how the city manager/city ctaff makes recommendations to the City Council. You can bet there will be some very unpopular decisions on what to prioritize. The mayor and the vice mayor will have their issues on whatever is put forward. The balance of the council will have a very good and logical plan on what needs to be prioritized. It will not be the two-step process items. It will be all about expense versus revenue where priority items coming from the residents/voters will prevail.
You can also bet that high on the list will be roads, water/sewer and safety. Low on the list will be the Library and the arts. The Library will get a lot of feedback, but since the mayor is big on fee recovery costs, do not be surprised that the computer use will now have a charge and possible other fees will be raised along with reduced hours and days such as a Sunday opening.
The city residents are up in arms over the roads and water/sewer issue. The council, with recommendations from the city manager/staff is responsible for services to the residents and the residents/voters are taxed to meet those goals. Yes, some funds do come from visitors tax and room tax, but as we all know we do not have the revenue to cover all the expenses. Consequentially, the council will have to make cuts based on PBB results.
Another big issue will be economic development. The mayor has no idea how this works. This is a very important goal. I do believe there are some members of the council who do have some workable ideas that will work with the resources we have to work with, such as the Seeno property. It could produce revenue in 10 years. In the meantime, there is a very simple solution. It is a 1 percent added sales tax with a 10-year sunset. That tax could accomplish and do the things that are priorities. It gives you a 10-year window to get all those priorities in place. Yes, there will still be cuts all produced by the PBB.*    Keep a close eye on this and put in your two-cents worth. It is very important that the city hears from the resident/voters. I will be watching.

Bob Livesay is a Benicia resident.

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