Lets Get Up To Speed

About 6-10 years ago the metropolitan area around the City of Stockton, along with the city itself, experienced a boom in the housing industry. The city government, elected and appointed, spent money as if it was a disease they needed to rid themselves of.

They invested in several capital ventures, restructured redevelopment agency districts, to aid in tax collecting, and expanded city staffing levels in almost all departments.

Almost anyone with any economic training understood this boom was just that, a boom. Not a status quo to be counted on and depended on for rears to come. Any competent manager could have seen the end coming before the story even began to develop. In fact at a meeting of county tax assessors the word was put out to start saving due to the boom coming to a bust. San Joaquin County began saving, Stockton’s City management began spending like drunken sailors, and raiding funds like drunken pirates.

When revenue began to slow down the city manager continued to spend and invest in capital ventures such as a multipurpose sports arena, minor league baseball field, and a high end marina. A new city hall was also purchased with millions of dollars of upgrades.

Tax money was diverted from the general fund to pay for these high end projects. Money that was ear marked through contract negotiations meant to be spent on public safety retirements and back loaded contracts (which were at the city‘s request to save money when they were making money). Tax money ear marked for the water district was also diverted. City staff has now admitted to removing 38 million dollars from the general fund to pay for the arena.

Now revenues have decreased and the city manger, who while facing the drop in revenues refused to stop spending, even making statements similar to “I have people money and thing money, I have a lot of thing money and not very much people money, and I‘m not losing my things“, now blames the employees salary and benefit packages for the city’s financial problems.

During the “boom” one thing was certain, the written labor contracts.

Any competent manager could have, should have, read the contracts and then realized there was a bill coming due, and then curtailed discretionary spending, thereby securing funds to pay the contracts.

Any competent manager would have stopped the spending.
This manager was incompetent in reading the existing contracts, following the advice of professionals, and has now created a huge financial problem.

The truth is the City of Stockton would have at least an 8 million dollar surplus instead of a 30 million dollar deficit, had the city manager not removed the 38 million dollars to pay for pet projects.

The truth is the financial mess was created by mismanagement of taxpayers funds, and the economy downturn only shined the light on the city manager’s incompetence.

Nothing here in is intended to aid or hinder the City of Stockton's Government process. All contents are simply opinions of the author and are not the opinions of any government office, department, entity, or business. For entertaiment purposes only.