Balancing the Budget without Reserve Spending

By Crystal L Ruiz

Reserve spending is not an option. Increasing the revenue without increasing taxes is the answer. At the same time we need to go over the budget and cut where we can and increase where we need to.

On July 17, 2012 the City Manager for San Jacinto gave an update as to when the City's reserves would be exhausted. According to him the money will be gone on September 2, 2017 provided there are no further expenditure reductions or revenue increases. That is 5 years. There will come a point when the City Council can't cut any more and the only thing left will be a tax increase or bankruptcy like Stockton.

Reserve spending is not an option. We can work together with the citizens of this community and change the course of the city. We can increase the sales for the local businesses, we can entice new businesses to open up here in San Jacinto. We can encourage home builders and buyers to increase the home sales. We have to demand more from our City Council and they should have enough business experience to answer the demands. My goal is to increase the revenues without increasing taxes and help the citizens of San Jacinto provide for their families from now to the future. Our priority needs to be our citizens!