We buy, sell, & trade all kinds of used books, including TEXTBOOKS!
Fortuna Mayor Doug Strehl photo by Terrence McNally
million. That year the council put a .5-cent sales tax measure on the ballot, which passed easily and is due to sunset in 2016. But it’s not only big cities that are feeling the pinch. Tiny Blue Lake has a structural deficit of $57,000, even after disbanding its police department in 2008, in part as a cost-cutting move. Rio Dell has a $100,000 structural deficit, even after the council downsized city staff by 30 percent in recent years. And, while state coffers are looking rosier all the time as stock markets have rebounded, local governments continue to see stagnant sales tax receipts and increasing expenses. “Counties and cities rely on things that haven’t really improved: consumer confidence, consumer spending and property values,” Emenaker said. “They have no real options left. You can defer maintenance and not buy computers for a certain amount of time, but you can’t defer forever. You can ask people on the hefty end of the pay scale to retire. But, ultimately, you have to really start cutting those services where people are going to feel it, or you need to start gen-
“As we’ve cut over the years, every department has taken a major hit and every department needs help — they’re all bleeding. The only light at the end of this tunnel is this measure.” — Doug Strehl, mayor of Fortuna
erating more income.” Meanwhile, the costs of doing business continue to increase. As an example, Fortuna has seen general fund revenues increase 31 percent over the past decade while expenses have increased 60 percent. “Since 2003, costs for [Pacific Gas & Electric] increased by 58 percent, health insurance increased by 98 percent, vehicle continued on next page northcoastjournal.com • North Coast Journal • Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014
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