Where are the concerns for residents?
It appears the City Council led by Mayor Patterson, is not concerned about the upcoming budget crisis. It is about time that the residents take notice of this. It seems the city will be able to get around the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 budgets, but then the real issues will hit for the next two-year budgets, which are 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. I urge all residents to look at those projections.
There are now revenue issues that could help the city with about a $1 million revenue stream, ut it does appear that the Amports revenue issue is dead in the water for a very long legal fight. The council voted 3-2 to not allow Amports to demolish the decayed historic buildings in the lower Arsenal, which looks like a salvage yard. Any economic development there is dead in the water. I did like what Amports said about donating the property to the city as an option. Give it to the city and let the historic folks and Mayor Patterson spend more time and money on an issue that should have been resolved with a demolition permit.
The next stream of revenue is the Yacht Harbor issue. That will be a long, drawn-out issue which may go nowhere. As we all know, the residents like their independence and the Yacht Harbor is a good example of Benicia’s own Yacht Harbor. Both of those revenue streams appear be dead for a long time. Not as easy as it sounds. There are many legal obstacles to hurdle over. We shall see.
So where does that leave the city on revenues? Nowhere. This mayor-led council must start worrying about the future of this fine city. It appears there is a two-year window to get something going. That is not enough time to resolve this mayor issue. Keep your eye on the mayor-led council on solutions. Which could be staff cuts, benefit cuts, service cuts and a very big one: outsource some of our services. Do we want the library, city attorney, police, fire, park maintenance, water and sewage departments outsourced, just to mention a few? The residents will not stand for it. As I said before, we are a very independent city that likes it the way it is.
I would urge all voters/residents to pressure the mayor and your newly elected Councilmember Steve Young to start to get down to the serious business of economic development. Overturning a demolition permit or a form of a sanctuary city along with national politics comments will not get it done. Let’s hope the residents/voters who have been reluctant to get involved in local politics step up to the plate. It is our future, and it is not going in the right direction at present. It must change.
The Owl will be on the look out to see what this mayor-led council does. At present, it does not look good.
Bob “The Owl” Livesay,
Benicia
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Bob –
Where can we find the projections that you referenced? What changes between the 17/18, 18/19 budgets and the 19/20, 20/21 budgets?
How does not allowing Amports to demolish the buildings lead to a loss of $1 million in revenue to Benicia.
Also, I’ve completely missed the Yacht Harbor issue. What is it? Why and how much will it cost Benicia?
Tom; The out going Interim City Manger on January 9, 2017 gave an Executive Summary that was not good. He wrote about the troubled revenue base. Also talked about the rising pension costs {CalPers}. Within three years the 2016/17 Pers payment is expected to rise from $5,140,000 to $7,316,000 in the 2019/20 budget. Within ten years 2027/28 it is expected to more than double from the 2016/17 numbers of $5,140,000 to over $12M/year. So as you see the increase is about $725,000 each year. So as you see each year you add on to CalPers $725,000. So if you have a flat revenue stream and CalPers alone is going up each year $725,000 on top of the previous increase each year of $725,000 you have a big problem by 19/20 and 20/21. The 1 million loss or not available revenue is a big issue. Simple because we have done nothing about it at present. It is only a proposal It does not happen overnight. The Amports revenue on the per car tax was $750,000 a year revenue increase. The Yacht Harbor proposal to out source was about $250.000. year savings. That is the 1Million that is not even in play at present. Both have leases that are not up yet. So as you see the 1 million is only a proposal not a fact yet. My reasoning on the Amports issue was simple. Bad timing to have the city council deny the permit. It does appear Amports will take action on that. Does anyone think you have a willing partner now that the demolition permit was denied. I think not. This city is in big trouble financially. I have written about it before and got criticized for even discussing that topic. If you ask the city for a copy of that Summary I do believe you would have a better understanding of what I am saying. Thanks for your concern.
Interesting. Thanks for the detail. But our city government is prone to crashing into the wall before putting on the seat belt.
Looks like troubled waters ahead …..
Thanks Bob. I get it now.