One Tri-Valley city’s leaders will be discussing budgetary concerns on Tuesday night that are comparable to those in Oakland and San Francisco.
Pleasanton’s expenses are rising, and its income isn’t keeping up. A plan to implement a half-cent sales tax to assist bridge the budget deficit was defeated by a vote of 54 percent in November.
The newly elected members of the city council will begin tackling what may be a deficit of over $100 million over the next eight years at the meeting on Tuesday night.
Wendi Shulte asks two women who enter her store, “Have you guys been in before?”
For nearly a decade, she and her spouse have operated a little Pleasanton business.
“We chose this area because it was one of the more safer areas to run a small business,” Schulte stated.
They are the owners of the all-organic skincare and bath company Good Common Sense Naturals. The Kitchen, located at the rear of the store, is where they manufacture all of their goods internally.
“Safety is always the main concern in any firm. “Safety for my customers and my employees,” she stated.
When Schulte and others in the community learned of some of the cuts that the city administrator’s office was proposing, they were alarmed. Among the recommendations were cuts to the police department totaling more than $1 million, which included removing one of the city’s fire stations and doing away with the K9 program and school resource officers.
“I think our community was pretty clear that public safety was one of their top priorities,” stated Jack Balch, the recently elected mayor of Pleasanton.
Public safety cuts should only be made as a last resort, he added, but Pleasanton’s financial problems are similar to those of many other cities. Since public safety receives the majority of a city’s general fund funding throughout the Bay Area, fiscal balance is difficult to achieve without reducing such services.
“I think that our community, based on the election, has chosen leaders to do the hard work to decide if there’s other things that can happen first,” stated Balch.
He added that while the cost of labor and goods has gone up dramatically while revenue has remained relatively stable, the city is also struggling with outdated infrastructure that is more expensive to maintain. Property taxes provide the majority of the city’s general fund funding.
In order to offset the plummeting sales at Stoneridge Mall, where many anchor retailers, including Nordstrom, have already closed, Balch expects that the new Costco in Pleasanton would increase sales tax revenue.
Shulte hopes the council tightens the belt before slashing essential services because it views the budget like a business owner.
“That they’ve dug very deeply into this and there’s no other choice, but is no other choice going to be for us to be sacrificing our safety,” she said.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council will determine whether to create a budget committee to seek suggestions on where and how to make cuts. Until the middle of next year, no steps will be taken to reduce the budget.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.