YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 5
Including Surrounding Communities
www.oakleypress.com
City braces for deep deficit Staff Writer As the city budget faces a $700,000 deficit over the next 18 months, officials are considering a number of cuts, including elimination of the Planning Commission, furloughing city workers one day per month, scaling back the city’s 10th anniversary celebrations and reducing contributions to community organizations. “We have been affected by the economic slowdown like everybody else,” city Finance Director Paul Abelson told the council at a special meeting on Jan. 20. “In the current year we are seeing a reduction in assessed values, which affects property taxes. We are continuing to see a slowdown in sales taxes like everybody else. Development fees, planning activities and (building) applications have declined significantly.” Abelson displayed a graph showing that revenues to the city’s General Fund that peaked at nearly $16 million in the 2006-07 budget year have been declining ever since and are estimated to be less than $13 million in the 2009-10 budget year, which begins in July. At the same time, city expenditures have remained fairly steady in the mid-$13 million range since 2005-06. As a result, the city budget is projected to be in a spending deficit in the current budget year and next, totaling to about $700,000, unless cuts are made or the city’s reserve fund is drawn down. Drawing down that fund is a definite option because currently the reserve is a healthy
Oakley finances
January 30, 2009
THIS WEEK
Readers get Capitol idea
17 16
Millions of Dollars
by Dave Roberts
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15 14
Frigid temperatures didn’t deter several locals from hanging out at a certain mall in D.C. to witness a historic event.
13 12 11 10
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Total Revenue Total Expenses Fiscal Year 2005-2006
Fiscal Year 2006-2007
Fiscal Year 2007-2008
Source: City of Oakley
Proj. Fiscal Year Proj. Fiscal Year 2008-2009 2009-2010 John Carter/Press Graphic
Revenues to the city’s General Fund peaked at nearly $16 million in the 2006-07 budget year and have been declining ever since to less than $13 million in next year’s budget. $3.8 million, which is more than 29 percent of the General Fund budget. City policy specifies a reserve fund of at least 20 percent. But before dipping into that reserve, the council members said they first want to look at reducing the budget. City Manager Bryan Montgomery has notified city employees that beginning in March,
they will be required to take one unpaid day off each month, representing a 4.5-percent decrease in employee salaries. In addition, City Hall is planned to be closed for the last two weeks of the year, vacant positions may not be filled and the council is postponing its scheduled pay increase.
Lawmen go online
A new system for reporting non-emergency crimes will save citizens time and help keep cops on the beat.
Page 16A
Melee in the mist
see Deficit page 18A
Porn zone 1,000 feet from school by Dave Roberts Staff Writer Bound by federal laws that prohibit an outright ban on sex shops, peep shows and strip clubs, the City Council this week unanimously approved an ordinance that would permit such establishments about three football fields away from the children attending Orchard Park School. The ordinance allows so-called “adult businesses” to set up shop in a light-industrial area on either side of Sandy Lane, north of Oakley Road, east of Neroly Road and west of Live Oak Avenue. The businesses cannot be closer than 1,000 feet from the property line of a school, park, church or residential zone. Orchard Park School is a K8 school on Live Oak Avenue just north of Oakley Road. The children attending there would be a couple of long blocks away from the pos-
“ I want to make sure that people know we are not recruiting adult businesses by placing this ordinance out there ... Rather than challenge the legal system and lose and have a judge determine where the location would be, I would rather we try to find the correct location and best spot in the city.
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City Councilman Kevin Romick sible porn district. That district is also 1,000 feet from Cornerstone Pentecostal Church, located at Live Oak Avenue and Main Street. Although the school is within the Oakley city limits, it’s also in the boundary of the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD), and AUSD officials apparently were not notified about the proposed ordinance, which has been discussed over the past months at several
council meetings. “I’m shocked, disappointed and angered,” AUSD board president Walter Ruehlig said via e-mail on Wednesday. “I … didn’t know it was up for Oakley vote last night, and definitely didn’t know it might be 1,000 feet from a school. I have calls in to our school superintendent, mayor, city manager and city counsel to see what we can do. “This must be a cruel joke.
Morally, what kind of message do we as elders send impressionable kids? And, practically, what kind of an adult clientele and arousement do we want in the vicinity of a grade school?! Tax dollars are great, but let’s be responsible.” Oakley Planning Commissioner Don Scheer, who was the only person to speak against the ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting, told the council he’s concerned that residents in that area have not been adequately notified. “I’m not too sure those folks understand what’s going on here, and that it could end up in their back yards,” he said. “Maybe we should notify them individually to let them know what might happen behind their houses.” He’s also concerned that if the Pump It Up Party Zone business on Neroly Road decides to close shop,
The air was drenched with vapor, but what evaporated was the Patriots’ early lead as the Falcons posted a comeback victory.
see Porn page 18A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
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INSIDE Business ............................. 5B Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................14B Cop Log ...........................15A Education ..........................8A Entertainment ................10B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 6B Milestones .......................17B Opinion ...........................14A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras ......................... 1B