Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Riding the Storm Out

During the November 23 city council meeting, representatives from the mayor's office and the office of the Independent Budget Analyst presented the city's fiscal year 2010 First Quarter Budget Monitoring Report to city councilmembers. The report, according to the city's financial manager Angela Colton, marked the first time the city strayed from using prior year budgets to appropriate funds for existing city contracts and it's the first time the city is including prior year commitments into the current fiscal year budget. Despite the new procedure, the report once again showed San Diego's financial forecast to be dominated by stormy financial conditions.

The first quarter report revealed that because of the new process, city expenditures have exceeded current year fiscal budget expectations by more than $39 million; $31.5 million of that will be paid from prior year funds. The remaining $7.5 million gets tacked on to the current budget deficit.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Revenues are projected to be $50.4 million, 4 percent under budget," Colton said. "This is due to the continued slowdown in the economy. It is almost entirely due to sales tax and transit occupancy tax, and it's an additional $28.4 million decline from what was included in the five-year outlook."

The breakdown in city revenues showed a $25.8 million decrease in sales tax revenues, much more than the mayor's office expected when comprising the current year budget. On top of that, there's also been a $9.1 million decrease in transit occupancy tax earnings and a $4.1 million decrease in franchise tax.

In fact, revenue shortfalls are showing up citywide, explained Colton. They are showing up "from the suspension of business tax and rental unit business tax processing fees, from a decline in Mission Bay lease revenues, and a reduction in revenues associated with traffic violations, and parking citations."

There's also a $17.7 million decrease in departmental revenues as well. Park and Recreation shows the most significant reduction, a $7 million decrease. To add to that, the city treasurer's office shows a $3.6 million deficit, general services shortfall amounts to $3.1 million, Real Estate Assets department reveals a $2.5 million deficit, and the police department shows a $2 million shortfall.

There was a sliver of silver lining to the dark fiscal forecast: "Expenditures are predicted at being $11.4 million, or 1 percent under budget. This is due to various cost-containment measures, including the hiring freeze." And, according to Colton, property tax revenues are expected to be $10.1 million dollars over the amount first predicted.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Next Article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"

During the November 23 city council meeting, representatives from the mayor's office and the office of the Independent Budget Analyst presented the city's fiscal year 2010 First Quarter Budget Monitoring Report to city councilmembers. The report, according to the city's financial manager Angela Colton, marked the first time the city strayed from using prior year budgets to appropriate funds for existing city contracts and it's the first time the city is including prior year commitments into the current fiscal year budget. Despite the new procedure, the report once again showed San Diego's financial forecast to be dominated by stormy financial conditions.

The first quarter report revealed that because of the new process, city expenditures have exceeded current year fiscal budget expectations by more than $39 million; $31.5 million of that will be paid from prior year funds. The remaining $7.5 million gets tacked on to the current budget deficit.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Revenues are projected to be $50.4 million, 4 percent under budget," Colton said. "This is due to the continued slowdown in the economy. It is almost entirely due to sales tax and transit occupancy tax, and it's an additional $28.4 million decline from what was included in the five-year outlook."

The breakdown in city revenues showed a $25.8 million decrease in sales tax revenues, much more than the mayor's office expected when comprising the current year budget. On top of that, there's also been a $9.1 million decrease in transit occupancy tax earnings and a $4.1 million decrease in franchise tax.

In fact, revenue shortfalls are showing up citywide, explained Colton. They are showing up "from the suspension of business tax and rental unit business tax processing fees, from a decline in Mission Bay lease revenues, and a reduction in revenues associated with traffic violations, and parking citations."

There's also a $17.7 million decrease in departmental revenues as well. Park and Recreation shows the most significant reduction, a $7 million decrease. To add to that, the city treasurer's office shows a $3.6 million deficit, general services shortfall amounts to $3.1 million, Real Estate Assets department reveals a $2.5 million deficit, and the police department shows a $2 million shortfall.

There was a sliver of silver lining to the dark fiscal forecast: "Expenditures are predicted at being $11.4 million, or 1 percent under budget. This is due to various cost-containment measures, including the hiring freeze." And, according to Colton, property tax revenues are expected to be $10.1 million dollars over the amount first predicted.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Next Article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader