A sales tax a day keeps the pension buggars way

As Sustainable City previously reported, the City is a few years away from running out of reserves, meaning they will have to seek alternative funding sources to pay CalPERS, and keep the budget balanced. According to the Committee, the total reserve funds available as of June 2019 were $3,039,000, but the 2019-2020 fiscal year is expected to create a deficit of $3,609,000, and is projected to continue to grow to approximately $5,605,000 in 2022-23.Whittier Mayor Joe Vinatieri asked Director of Administrative Services Rod Hill about the status of the reserve fund, as compared to other cities. “The people of Whittier need to know that we work real hard to keep the reserves for a rainy day,” Vinatieri said. Hill replied that Whittier is about average, “You’re healthy, but you’re not above average.”In order to prevent an unbalanced budget, the Committee identified a potential sales tax as a source of revenue. The sales tax could be placed on the ballot as soon as 2020, with the Committee recommending a 20-year minimum. “A 0.5% increase in the sales tax rate would generate approximately $5,000,000 annually, and a 0.75% increase would generate $7,500,000 annually,” the report reads.

Cities everywhere in California.  We have more government organizations at the trough then we have trough.