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Volume 137, Number 16 — Locally owned since 1884
The hometown paper of Steven Skaggs
Winters, Yolo County, California, Wednesday, May 13, 2020
CLOTHING DRIVE-THROUGH
Donations will be delivered to Empower Yolo, which has been promoting safe, healthy and resilient communities for over 40 years.
A CLOTHING DRIVE FOR SURVIVORS, FAMILIES IN NEED AND THE HOMELESS DURING COVID-19
All Day Drop Off on Saturday, May 16 in the 13 Russell St. Parking Lot
Organized by Rotary Club of Winters Zoom with us on Thursdays at noon
YOUR CLEAN & LAUNDERED CLOTHES ARE NEEDED NOW! Men’s clothing items: Men’s jeans and shorts (any sizes); shirts and t-shirts (any styles); buttondown shirts and polo shirts (any sizes, short sleeve preferred); shoes, tennis shoes & work boots (any sizes); pants and shorts (any styles); new socks and underwear (all sizes); please no coats or sweaters at this time. Teen boys (Youth L–Men’s X-Large) clothing items: shirts and t-shirts (any styles); pants and shorts (any styles); new socks and underwear (all sizes). Women’s clothing items: Summer clothing only (any sizes, casual & office casual).
City may cut services to balance budget, avoid bankruptcy By Rodney Orosco Staff Writer The May 5 City Council meeting was about the numbers— and they did not look good for the library, swimmers, actors and others who utilize the Winters Community Center. The numbers came in the form of reductions on a budget workshop report presented by Winters Director of Financial Management Shelly Gunby. Gunby reported that Winters is facing an estimated reduction in expected revenues of $334,820 in revised planning for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Revenues through July 2021 are projected to be $5,390,808. The drastic impact of the COVID-19 state shutdown on the city’s budget can be seen in what happened with the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)—the 12 percent tax on hotel rooms and vacation rentals paid by Airbnb hosts and companies like Abbey House Inn and Hotel Winters. “Currently we are projecting to receive $80,000 in TOT and we had budgeted $505,000,” Gunby reported. These taxes from hotels and restaurants make up 28 percent of the city’s budgeted revenue. Add in to a projected TOT shortfall a reduction in sales tax revenue from fewer people eating out and driv-
Index Features ........................ B-1 Classifieds ................... B-3 Community .................. A-5 Opinion ......................... B-5 Real Estate ................... A-6 Athlete of the Wk...... B-5
State law pauses city’s race to acquire new data-collection technology
ing -- the majority of the city’s budget, 36 percent, was projected to come from taxes on the sale of fuel -- and the budget balancing work appears to be cut out for Winters council members. A city budget operates like a business, with income and expenses, but unlike a normal business, California Constitution prohibits cities from incurring debt or liabilities that exceed their income and revenue anticipated for that year without two-thirds approval from voters. In her presentation, Gunby put up a slide that listed the budget items on which the city is expected to focus. The list included: an assumption of a prolonged recession, payroll reduction, anticipation of future litigation, and avoiding bankruptcy. “At the end of the day it is really simple,” City Manager John W. Donlevy, Jr. explained. “At this point we are doing our best to avoid bankruptcy.” He added, “I don’t think the city has ever been closer to [bankruptcy] given our overall cash situation.” The workshop report listed how much each city department would reduce their budgets. The total reduction in department expenditures was
See CITY, Page 3
Weather Date
Rain
High
Low
May 06 .00
88˚
50˚
May 07 .00
85˚
57˚
May 08 .00
91˚
52˚
May 09 .00
95˚
54˚
May 10 .00
93˚
54˚
May 11 .00
85˚
55˚
May 12 .03”
85˚
53˚
Rain for week: 0.03 in. Season’s total: 13.09 in. Last sn. to date: 36.38 in. Winters rainfall season began 7/1/19. Weather readings are taken at 9 a.m.
By Rodney Orosco Staff Writer In their rush to acquire powerful new law-enforcement technology, technology that embeds Winters into the expanding surveillance state, the Winters City Council hit a low-tech speed bump—the law. Automatic License Plate Reader systems (ALPR ) are highspeed cameras that automatically capture, and store, a car’s license plate number as the driver passes by the system. And, according to Winters Police Chief John P. Miller, his department has wanted the technology for several years. “It has been the desire of the City of Winters to have Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology to assist in investigating crimes such as arson, vehicle thefts, and other property and violent crimes,” Miller explained in a report he gave to the council outlining the system. However, the means to implement the system, on stationary poles or mounted on patrol cars, proved too costly, he added.
Rodney Orosco/Winters Express
A common site in Winters now, future radar trailers may eventually gather more data than just speeds. By buying an ALPR system and affixing it to a new radar trailer the police department is also requesting from the council, costs would come down significantly, he reported. In fact, it would cost the city almost nothing because the system could be purchased using Vehicle Theft Deterrent
Funds, if the funds were used by June 30, 2020, Miller said. Thus, Miller forwarded his report and request to the city council: The radar trailer and ALPR system were placed on the May 5 consent agenda. As a consent agenda item, the ALPR system would be added to a list of other usual
By Anne Ternus-Bellamy McNauhton Media Yolo County has now met all but one of the criteria set by the state for progressing further into reopening the local economy, the Board of Supervisors was told on Tuesday, and there may be wiggle room on that one. That metric: the number of recent COVID-19 deaths. Five county residents — all at the Stollwood Convalescent Hospital — have died in the last two weeks. The state requires no deaths in the last 14 days for counties to move further into stage two reopening, a stage that includes dine-in restaurants and shopping malls. However, county staff had a call sched-
uled with the California Department of Public Health later Tuesday to plead the case made by other counties where cases and deaths have been concentrated in skilled nursing facilities or other congregate care facilities: that with no deaths in the community outside of Stollwood in more than two weeks, Yolo County has met the intent of that metric. “We want to make the case to the state that that’s what we should be reporting on, and if that’s the case, then we meet the metric of no deaths in the last 14 days,” said Brian Vaughn, the county’s public health director. “We believe it meets the spirit of what they’re getting at.”
Jeffrey Rawlinson/Winters Express
Activities the county could OK once the readiness plan is submitted include opportunity for dine-in restaurants. County staff are confident enough that the state will agree that they asked the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to continue moving forward with the county’s local readiness plan which, once submitted to the state, would allow for the resumption of all activities listed under the state’s stage
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Yolo officials look to move further into stage two reopening
WINTERS AGGREGATE
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city business items to be voted on as a single group—no discussion on any item. While tracking and recording citizens seems like a mundane item to Miller and City Manager John W. Donlevy, Jr., the State of California sees it very differently. Senate Bill 34 “Require(s) a public agency, as defined, that operates or intends to operate an ALPR system to provide an opportunity for public comment at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing body of the public agency before implementing the program.” The City Manager did not respond by press time to an email about the ALPR system as a consent agenda item and the guidelines stipulated in SB 34. However, on May 4, Miller sent an email to The Express: “Per CM (City Manager), item will be pulled and will be ‘re-posted’ as a discussion item for next council.” Not posting the ALPR
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two of reopening. That readiness plan provides local data on a number of public health metrics, including total cases in the last 14 days; testing and contact tracing capacity; hospital surge capacity; and supply of personal protective equipment
See YOLO, Page 4
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