Volume 9
YOUR COMMUNITY IN YOUR HANDS
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Issue 19
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March 9 - 22, 2017
SLOCityNews.com
See Inside and Online
A SLO Mardi Gras tradition that’s replaced rowdier times marked five years fifth year, Feb. 25 at the SLO Masonic Lodge, a masquerade ball featuring a Burning James and the Funky Flames.
CSI Digital Page 8
Watershed Clean Up Page 10
School Cuts Debated for Diablo Closure
City Budget Gap Looms
By Neil Farrell
By Camas Frank
Small Business Spotlight
he San Luis Coastal Unified School District isn’t waiting until the closure of Diablo Canyon Power Plant causes a budget crisis. They’ve been working on ways to shrink their budget before losing $8 million a year. At a recent meeting of the school board, Superintendent Dr. Eric Prater and his staff presented a report on their activities addressing the loss of Diablo Canyon and spelling out the cuts they intend to propose with the next budget.
ome unpleasant news, that at least some members of the public knew was coming, emerged with the City of San Luis Obispo’s 2016-17 Mid-Year Budget Review and their General Fund Five Year Forecast on Feb. 21. The forecast projects a structural budget shortfall of over $5 million by 2021-22, in part, City staff reports, due to lower than projected tax revenues, but largely as a result of the City pension costs scheduled to increase from $10.7 million in the current fiscal year to $19.1 million over the next five years.
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See Cuts, page 4
See Budget, page 11
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