Fiscal Stability

By Mike Kasperzak

Mountain View must remain vigilant to avoid what happened in Vallejo.

Only the voters can increase taxes in California, so it is difficult for Cities to raise revenue to meet rising expenses. Therefore, it is critical to keep a sharp eye on spending increases, especially those of an ongoing nature. Our City adopts an annual budget every June. As with any service organization, employee payroll and benefits make up a sizable portion of the general fund budget. As the economy cycles from strong to weak, it becomes more difficult to balance the reality of reduced revenues with increased needs for community services, investing in infrastructure, providing for public safety and ensuring that the City is a competitive employer with customer service oriented employees.

Having served eight years on the Council during the dotcom and dotbomb era's I have experienced the highs and lows of government finance, and helped ensure that the taxpayers are receiving value for their hard earned taxes. I have balanced budgets during the past recession and I did not seek the endorsement of any union representing Mountain View employees. As the U.S. economy struggles, it is important to have councilmembers with the experience, objectivity, understanding and ability to make difficult, yet creative decisions to ensure that what happened in Vallejo doesn't happen in Mountain View.