As Hollister council members are set to approve a 2008-09 budget that relies on much-needed reserve dollars, we encourage city officials to continually examine potentially bold actions - such as consolidation with county departments - while economic times make it increasingly nonsensical to overlap services.
We have advocated and will continue to advocate for studying of consolidation that could prospectively save immense taxpayer dollars while raising efficiency of government services. Looking at doing so to the Hollister Police Department and San Benito County Sheriff's Office appears to be the most logical starting point considering the hefty staffing it takes to run the agencies and the amount of jurisdictional convergence involved.
City prompted to spend reserves again
Hollister council members expect to adopt a budget - unfortunately more than a month late - at the Aug. 4 meeting. It calls for spending half of the Measure T sales tax dollars, or $1.4 million of the expected $2.8 million to be raised. It would use the remaining $1.4 million to pay down on a $1.7 million deficit already in place, while officials would fill the gap with some cuts and reserve dollars. Meanwhile, city leaders continue to negotiate with unions on potential pay increases that City Manager Clint Quilter projected would add another $200,000 to $400,000 to the budget, money also likely coming from that general fund reserve fund.
Responsibility to taxpayers
It's a less-than-ideal budget and reflects the sluggish economy and its effect on estimated sales tax revenue - city officials initially estimated raising $3.5 million to $4 million from Measure T.
And it's another, likely annual sign that major changes must be considered if local governments expect to sustain themselves while providing decent levels of service. We believe that examining consolidation should be a top priority, and it would be irresponsible for council members to neglect its potential impact on constituents' wallets.
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