Ledger-Dispatch

By Jerry Budrick (jbudrick@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

The Sutter Creek City Council on Monday = discussed=20 falling city revenues and moving forward with the possible = annexation of=20 56 acres east of Sutter Hill.

Photo by: Jerry = Budrick

In his last meeting, outgoing Sutter = Creek=20 Councilman Brent Parsons heard of the city's declining = revenues.

Photo by: Jerry=20 Budrick
With the $435,000 budget shortfall = from=20 last year thought safely behind them, a disheartened Sutter Creek City = Council=20 was informed Monday night of a projected additional deficit of=20 $157,000.

Unless steps are taken immediately, they were warned, = the city=20 appears to be on track to spending $25,000 per month more than it brings = in.=20 Sutter Creek Finance Director Jeff Gardner laid the primary blame for = the=20 shortfall on the lack of sales tax revenue, which has dropped off = dramatically=20 in recent months.

"We need to come up with a plan," said City = Manager Rob=20 Duke, "meet with employee groups, get their input. Would they like to do = furloughs." Duke outlined the various scenarios that could come into = play after=20 a secret ballot of city employees is conducted. Though a secret ballot = would not=20 be legally binding, it could provide valuable information about staff=20 preferences, which might be surprising, Duke said.

"There's no = magic=20 solution," Mayor Gary Wooten injected. "The city doesn't have a lot of = staff."=20 In what sounded like a unanimous offer by the council members, Wooten = said the=20 council discussed deferring the city council monthly stipend, "which = would add=20 up to $9,400 in six months."

"I'm ready to give mine up," quipped = departing Councilman Brent Parsons.

Someone in the audience = mentioned=20 raises that had recently been given to staff, saying, "Raises are=20 forever."

"I've worked for the state and the county for 47 = years," Wooten=20 replied. "Normally, they don't take it back - normally."

"Maybe = we have=20 to think about lowering our base line," said Councilman Tim Murphy. "On = paper,=20 furloughs work, but they get all tangled up in issues of overtime and = such."=20 Murphy, hailed earlier in the meeting for his 20 years of dedicated city = council=20 membership, expressed his doubts that an economic turnaround was going = to happen=20 soon. He wondered aloud about scaling down city expenses on a more = permanent=20 basis.

City council support for promotions remained strong. = Councilman=20 Pat Crosby pointed to the recent publicity from Sunset Magazine. "We = will=20 continue to advertise in the California guide in Sierra Heritage = magazine,"=20 vowed Councilman Bill Hepworth.

"There's $30,000 to $75,000 = available in=20 the budget," said Sutter Creek resident John Motto-Ros. "You pay both = sides of=20 the Public Employees Retirement System and Social Security. Things are = very=20 different today and it's time to look into this seriously."

"It = is a=20 negotiation item (with city staff)," Duke responded. "We are working on=20 that."

The other major item on Monday's agenda was annexation of = the 56=20 acres east of Sutter Hill, an area that includes proposed land uses of = cottage=20 residential, retail commercial, heavy industrial and public park - the = Central=20 Eureka Mine site.

"It's a logical annexation by the rules of the = Local=20 Agency Formation Commission," said Planning Director Bruce Baracco. "The = city=20 and three property owners (Trevaskis, Drake and Brusatori) are proposing = the=20 annexation into the city of Sutter Creek and the Sutter Creek Fire = Protection=20 District, with concurrent detachment from the Amador Fire Protection=20 District."

Baracco referenced a letter received from the Amador = Water=20 Agency, alerting the city to agency plans to build a new water treatment = plant=20 at Tanner Reservoir on Ridge Road. In the meantime, the letter = intimated, there=20 is limited treated water available and many projects in line to receive=20 it.

"It would be logical," Baracco said, "to include this = annexation area=20 in a Community Facilities District for creation of the = plant."

AWA was=20 represented at the meeting by supervising engineer John Griffin, who = told the=20 council that the new treatment plant was in the design stage. Financing = for the=20 plant, he said, is expected to come from CFDs on future=20 developments.

Although his family name was included among the = three=20 applicants cooperating with the city on the annexation, developer Ray = Brusatori=20 presented a list of concerns with some of its provisions. He questioned = the=20 mixed use overlay designation, drainage standards and costs, and funding = of=20 various improvements in the annexation area.

"Roark (city = engineer Weber)=20 has done an analysis of the probable improvements and costs," Assistant = City=20 Manager Sean Rabe later said. "There won't be a price tag on the CFD = until the=20 analysis is released, which must happen before LAFCO."

"If you = want to be=20 a developer," Baracco said, "then you're involved. If you don't develop, = you're=20 not involved."

"Have the owners of the mineral rights been = notified?"=20 asked Sutter Creek resident Ed Swift. On page 23 of the Initial Study = and=20 Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Sutter Hill East Annexation, = Swift found=20 some phraseology that he believes is misleading to the public. Swift = told the=20 council that there is much gold still to be mined in the area and that = the mines=20 were shut down in 1942 for reasons having to do with national defense = rather=20 than a depletion of the gold.

The council adopted the Mitigated = Negative=20 Declaration, approved the Sutter Hill East reorganization, authorized = the filing=20 of an application to LAFCO and approved by resolution the General Plan = Land Use=20 designations and pre-zoning designations.

There is a public = hearing=20 scheduled for Dec. 15, to deal with Sutter Creek sewer rates. Resident = Mimi=20 Arata brought a long list of sewer rate questions and concerns to the = council on=20 Monday night, but was restricted by public comment time limitations. = Arata was=20 advised by the council to discuss her concerns with Duke, who gave her = his card=20 and cell phone number, and to bring her list back for the public = hearing.

Jerry = Budrick