The current City Council has been irresponsible in managing the fiscal affairs of the City.
City finances may be the most important issue not being discussed in this election. For years now the State of California has been raiding our revenue stream because the State over-estimated its' own future revenue streams. Not only has that cost Lompoc millions of dollars, but Lompoc is now on the cusp of making the same mistake. Likewise, City "developer fees" are much to low thus depriving the City of other revenue streams it desparately needs. And, perhaps most importantly, revenue from sales taxes - the mainstay of the general fund - may begin to decrease in the near-term, thus further diminishing funding (based upon economic analysis of consumer spending nationally).
In such time, fiscal responsibility should have been near the top of the list of management priorities - especially when you consider public safety staffing and pay issues, public works, parks and recreation issues among others. Quite the opposite has occured, however, in that the current City Council has instead overspent on luxury items we can scarcely afford - and issued long-term debt to pay for it (akin to using a credit card to make purchases when income is on the decline). As if that isn't bad enough, money flows out of City Hall to fund pet projects yielding questionable benefits. And, without proper oversight or audit.
Which brings me to the Council's decision to terminate the position of "Treasurer". This shortsighted decision assumed we didn't need a professional check-signer at City Hall. In fact, the Treasurer was the ONLY pure, professional financial analyst/accounting position on City Staff. And, the Tresurer was only position reporting directly to City Council, not the City Administrator, who could be called upon to audit various City expenditures.
Granted State Proposition 1A may pass and, in 2 years restore our lost funding. However, this Council cannot be trusted with that money, or any money, nor the decisions on that revenues' expenditure. In short, I will bring to the Council an ability to prioritize spending, allocate resources, and follow-up.
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