Comments on: Fresno finds itself in trouble, despite frugality

By: Mr. Practical

Mr. Practical — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:11:24 +0000

Rick, I agree whole-heartedly. The biggest factors affecting Calif. cities are the economy ,the loss of redevelopment agencies and other state initiatives that have attempted to balance its budget by requiring municipalities to should financial responsibility without appropriate funding.

By: Rich Giddens

Rich Giddens — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:13:43 +0000

Its never the fault of California’s city governments. They, like the state aren’t responsible for their spending and unions. Instead, its the people’s fault—especially those people who complained and warned you about all of this.

By: Rick Wood

Rick Wood — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:44:41 +0000

“Despite frugality.” Note that. People are starting to realize that it’s almost all a revenue problem at this point. Between the recession and state takeaways, cities really can’t be blamed for the mess they are in. The evidence that people are coming around is the passage of local sales taxes and the like for general city services. It’s a shame it’s come to this. Fairfield would actually be in good shape but for the state takeaways. Local sales taxes aren’t the whole answer, nor are they a sustainable answer or a particularly good answer, but it’s what we have. I think more use of benefit assessment districts needs consideration. They are the fairest way to go for some things: Beneficiaries pay for the benefits they recieve, and they get to vote in proportion to the amount they will pay.