Weekend Stuff and Whatnot for June 7-8 -- See the list HERE
Save PB Vallejo
By Marti Brown -- Past Vallejo City Councilmber
6/5/14
With just days to go before the Vallejo City Council gets their first crack at voting on this year’s 2014/2015 city budget, the campaign to “Save Participatory Budgeting (PB) Vallejo” is heating up. At last count, more than 250 Vallejoans had signed the “Save PB Vallejo” petition and the numbers are climbing.
As many people already know, this year’s city budget proposal includes a plan to “skip a year of PB” and slash its budget by more than 50% to just $1 million in 2015/2016. The city has made so much progress. It is finally known for something positive. Why would we want to return to the infamous days of being solely known as a former bankrupt and high crime city?
There are two noteworthy aspects to this year’s proposed allocation of 1% Measure B sales tax monies.
First, nearly 50% of your 1% sales tax dollars are now consumed by ongoing salaries and benefits of city employees. When Measure B expires in 2022, who will pay for those city positions or will a future Council return to the voters to extend the 1% sales tax another 10 years in order to sustain those positions?
Second, the remaining expenditure of 1% sales tax proposed for the 2014/2015 fiscal year includes infrastructure improvements, demolition of buildings on the north end of Mare Island and rebuilding city reserves just to name a few. Those are all good things. And they could all be potential PB projects. Why not engage the public in helping to decide how to spend the 1%, Measure B sales tax? Demolition of more buildings on the north end of Mare Island could easily be a PB project just like filling pot holes, the number one winning PB project in 2012.
Instead of continuing to rebuild the public’s trust and confidence in government as PB has helped to initiate, the city is severely undermining it with this proposal and its missing a tremendous opportunity to make the citizens part of the solution, positive city ambassadors, and ultimately future leaders at every level of our community.
Gutting PB is not the answer. PB is simply a budgetary process. Many of the things that the Council is deciding FOR YOU can be decided BY YOU through the PB process.
If you agree and want your 1% Measure B sales tax decided by and for the people on one-time expenditures and sustainable projects, please “like” the “Save PB Vallejo” Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SavePBVallejo and sign the petition (link found at the FB page). You can also join many of us at the June 10 City Council meeting at 7:00 pm in Council Chambers. Make your voice heard and help save PB Vallejo now and into the future.
Note: All opinions expressed in the "Primal Scream" column are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Vallejo Independent Bulletin.