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Email Megan Email Shayla Browse & Buy: Announcements Apartments & Rentals Automotive Employment Farmer's Market Financial Legals Merchandise for Sale Real Estate for Sale Recreational Call A Pro Page 1 Call A Pro Page 2 MARKETPLACE SUBSCRIBER CENTER Contact the Ledger Dispatch Subscribe Today COMMUNITY LINKS California Highway Patrol Traffic Info Page City of Jackson Jackson Police Department City of Amador Amador County Chamber of Commerce Amador Superior Court City of Plymouth Amador County Caltrans Road Conditions HomeTown Radio City of Ione Amador County Sheriff City of Sutter Creek CLICK GALLERIES April Click Submissions Click - March 25, 2008 Click - March 18, 2008 Click - March 11, 2008 Click — February 19, 2008 Photos Courtesy of John Shepherd More Click Galleries E-mail this article to a friend | Printer friendly format Jackson's budget deficit causes hardship Thursday, June 04, 2009 By Scott Thomas Anderson A sharp decline in taxes and a potential revenue heist by the state may finally force the city of Jackson into handing out bad news to employees - a situation the city's spent more than two years attempting to avoid. When officials from the city of Jackson first learned that Prospect Motors was leaving for Martell, they began initiating preemptive cost-cutting measures in order to generate a security fund to cushion the anticipated decline in sales tax dollars. For the last two years, the city has lived off that "rainy day" fund in the face of budget deficits, even as its sales tax revenues have moved from a predictable decline to an all-out plummet. "We expect our water and sewer funds to be balanced, but the General Fund is a whole different situation," said Jackson City Manager Mike Daly. "We experienced a continuing slide in sales tax revenue. We've dropped from $3.1 million in 2006-2007 fiscal year to an expected $550,000 this year. We've been implementing cost-cutting measures all along, but this is a drop beyond what we could have foreseen. It's declining faster than we can make cuts to keep up with it." Some of Jackson's sales tax reduction was caused by a number of businesses moving out of the city to Martell. The closure of Prospect Motors also hurt its revenue, as a 10-year deal was in place to keep a portion of Prospect's sales tax coming to the city even after the business left for Martell. Beyond that, two years of a bad economy have affected spending habits and tourism in the city. Through all of this, non-personnel budget cuts and the city's reserve fund helped Jackson avoid following in the footsteps of other cities that have implemented mandatory furloughs, wage reductions and layoffs. Daly said the city may not be able to ward such "drastic measures" much longer. "We're looking at having to deal with a projected $370,000 deficient in the coming fiscal year," Daly observed. "A few years ago, employee salaries and benefits made up about half of the city's General Fund. Since then, we've been cutting in every area but that, to the point where now salaries and benefits make up 80 percent of the General Fund. If we cut any place besides there, we won't be able to provide basic services to the city." Adding to the city's troubles is the fact that the governor is entertaining thoughts of seizing or "borrowing" without asking as much as $300,000 of the city's revenue by tapping funds from property taxes under Proposition 1A, highway users taxes, sales taxes on gas and COPS/booking fees. On May 26, Daly brought a draft resolution to the Jackson City Council stating that the city would experience "severe fiscal hardship" if tax funds were seized by the state of California. On Wednesday, Jackson Mayor Connie Gonsalves said she was worried the state was planning on going forward with at least taking the Prop. 1A revenues. "They seem to think that's where they can get the most money from," she said. In the face of this threat and the overall budget problems, the city of Jackson has applied for some federal grants, including the COPS Extension Fund, which Daly said might help pay for keeping police officers on the street. "We'll have to see if we get assistance that way," he said of the grants. Like Daly, Gonsalves isn't ready to concede that the city's personnel will be affected until the council is positive. "We're still crunching numbers," the mayor pointed out. "So nothing is settled for sure. I think we just have to hope for the best." Scott Thomas Anderson COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE No comments have been posted in the last 15 days! SEND US YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE * - Required fields Subject: * Message: * Contact Name: * Contact URL: Contact Email: * Write the text from image below to this textbox HOME | NEWS | SPORTS | LIFE | OPINION SPECIAL SECTION | SUBSCRIBER CENTER | BULLETIN | PHOTOS OUR PRIVACY POLICY Powered By: