Tehachapi News

City Council approves $20 million

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The Tehachapi City Council voted 4-1 to approve a $20 million 2009/2010 fiscal year budget and a preliminary five-year city budget June 15 at the BeeKay Theatre.

The package included the budget for capital project funds.

The five-year preliminary budget shows a general fund revenue upswing from a low in 2009-2010 to higher numbers by 2013-2014, notably in sales taxes, which are expected to approach the 2007 level by then.

The 2009-2010 budget shows a $52,362 surplus.

The council also approved the budget, 4-1, sitting as the Tehachapi Redevelopment Agency.

Councilman Stan Beckham cast the two “no” votes.

“We should have had more meetings,” Beckham said. “We should have had more than a two-day notice to discuss this.”

Beckham said the city should be cutting back more in all areas and that the city needs fallback plans.

“We need contingency funds in case the state and feds take city money,” Beckham said. “We don't have any contingency plan at all.”

“The city of Tehachapi is doing more with less,” City Manager Greg Garrett told the council and the public in presenting the budget at a special City Council meeting June 8.

“It's the leanest budget we'll see in our lifetime. I want to thank the departments for cutting and cutting and cutting as we go throughout this journey.”

Garrett said city employees have taken pay cuts and wage freezes and have received no cost of living allowance. He said personnel have been reduced through attrition.

Garrett said that city employees who drive city vehicles home now pay for the gas they use.

The city still has a reserve of $1.8 million, he said.

“We are not dipping into our reserves,” Garrett said.

The tight budget, he said, reflects the state financial crisis.

“They continue to knock on our door and take money we use and budget,” Garrett said.

The five-year preliminary budget numbers, Garrett said in response to a question from the audience, “are educated guesses. It helps us project the sales tax revenue. We don't have a crystal ball.”

The outlook

“This has been a long process,” City Finance Director Hannah Chung said at the June 8 public presentation. She said she and city staff had to go back over the numbers many times to make it all work.

The major sources of city revenues of $20,494,822 for fiscal year 2009-2010 are the General Fund, water sales and sewer service (see chart).

The major expenditures for fiscal year 2009-2010 are the General Fund, the Redevelopment Agency, sewer and water (see chart).

Chung said the city expects 2009-2010 property tax revenue to drop 11 percent from 2008-2009 and 26.2 percent from 2007-2008, with an anticipated average annual growth of negative 0.3 percent.

Sales tax revenue is predicted to drop 13 percent from 2008-2009 and 16 percent from 2007-2008. The sales tax anticipated average annual growth is in the positive territory, at 1 percent.

With fewer people staying in the hotels during the economic downturn, the city expects a drop in transient occupancy tax of 10 percent from 2008-2009 and 13 percent from 2007-2008, for a flat anticipated annual growth of 0 percent.

The city vehicle license fee will hold its status quo from 2008-2009, but will be down 8.1 percent from 2007-2008, for an anticipated average annual growth of 1 percent.

Expenditures from the 2009-2010 General Fund, Chung said, includes $16,000 in computer equipment for the police department, $3,750 for three scanners, $52,000 for Kern County Animal Control (“They haven't billed us for four years,” Chung said, and a similar sum will be paid next year), $25,000 for July 4 fireworks, $20,000 for community promotion, including the July 4 Hot Dog Festival, $10,000 for community relations, including the school crossing guard, $38,500 for the California Correctional Institution work crew, $20,000 for sidewalk improvement and $5,200 for police department equipment.

By department

The largest chunk of the city budget goes to the police department, at $2,189,144 or 48 percent.

The rest of the budget pie is cut into smaller pieces: city council, $23,430 (1 percent); city clerk, $60,855 (1 percent); treasurer, $2,587 (0.1 percent); general government, $717,045 (16 percent); finance, $161,700 (4 percent); public works, $516,958 (11 percent); landscape service, $183,281 (4 percent); construction, $264,547 (6 percent); construction inspection, $68,185 (1 percent), commercial development, $309,437 (7 percent) and fire, $63,300 (1 percent).