Tag Archives: Revenue

Return Of The Price Slasher

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And the Mvsevm was skipped because . . .

A budget-cutting and revenue-enhancing program presented by Pacific Grove management and budget director Jim Becklenberg to his City Council Tuesday got a unanimous endorsement.

There was a slight reprieve for the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.

He recommended cost reductions amounting to $833,000, including defunding the vacant deputy city manager position and a maintenance worker position, deferring a 9.8 percent raise for police and asking all other employees to take a 5 percent furlough, along with cuts in programs, supply purchases and operations.

Return Of The Price Slasher

P.G. Sales Tax Hits 9.25%

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Obama lied.

In two days, sales tax goes up one percent in California to help bring more money to the state. That means depending on the city, taxes will range from 8.25% to 10.25%.

Basically, the tax increases one cent on every dollar you spend. For example, if you want to buy a car that costs $20,000, after April 1, you will have to pay an additional $200 in sales tax.

Most cities in Monterey County will have an 8.25% sales tax. Some exceptions include Salinas where the sales tax will be higher at 8.75% and Pacific Grove at 9.25%. In Santa Cruz County, the city of Santa Cruz has the highest sales tax in the area at 9.5%. In San Benito County, Hollister has a 9.25%, same as nearby Gilroy.

Sales Taxes in the vicinity:

Pacific Grove 9.25%
Pebble Beach8 8.25%
Carmel 8.25%
Monterey 8.25%
Seaside 9.25
Sand City 8.75
Marina 8.25%
Salinas 8.75%
Prundale 8.25%

P.G. Sales Tax Hits 9.25%

Aint No Money In Our Wallet, Broke Again Is What We Call It*

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Red House Sidewalk

Pay Rent for the sidewalks?

“We’ll have about a 1.3 million dollar shortfall”, said Pacific Grove Budget Manager Jim Beckenberg.

That makes up approximately ten percent of the City’s annual budget and now everything is on the table, meaning City Hall could decrease the hours that it stays open, furloughs will also be considered as well as layoffs.

“We have to look at recreating services, library services, anything where we’re charging a fee for a service to make sure that we collect as much as we can so that general tax dollars can be saved for basic services like police and fire” said Beckenberg.

Small offering: $25 a month per square yard of sidewalk used by restaurants and sidewalk spam signs.

Bigger offerings: The Asilomar Flamingo hotel/casino.

*Hayes Carl

Aint No Money In Our Wallet, Broke Again Is What We Call It*

Only 5 Shopping Days Left

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Before that sales tax increase goes into effect. Is there any place in P.G. to buy something (that’s not ‘art’ or rusty garden decor)?

The sales tax rate in Pacifier Grove will increase by a full percent to 8.25 percent effective Oct. 1, according to the state Board of Equalization. City voters approved the sales tax hike in the June primary election.

Only 5 Shopping Days Left

Why Union School District Employees Need More $$$

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Pay them more so they don’t have to steal taxpayers’ gas.

Salinas police said they arrested Alisal Union School District worker Victoria Ponce, 62, and her husband Juan Ortega, 58, Monday morning for stealing from district gas pumps multiple times.

The district superintendent said Ponce was a long-time district employee who was busted by people she works with.

“Today, she submitted her letter resigning from the district,” Alisal Union Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas said.

Ponce worked in the transportation department as both a dispatcher and sometimes bus driver she’s even been a local school union president.

“She’s a past CSEA president of our bargaining unit here,” Zendejas said.

Followup – 11/14/08, both Ponce & Ortega pleaded guilty.

Victoria Ponce, a former district employee, pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzlement and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Ponce’s husband, Juan Ortega, pleaded guilty to one count of petty theft and was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

Why Union School District Employees Need More $$$

P.G. Looking For A Full Time Lawyer

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City Hall Help Wanted

To haul itself out of financial quicksand, the City of Pacific Grove has slashed jobs and shrunk services. Now, city leaders are looking to lighten legal costs by hiring a salaried city attorney.

David Laredo reckons his firm is giving P.G. a good deal. For the past year, he says, De Lay & Laredo has billed the city a flat monthly retainer fee for basic legal services, including attendance at City Council and Planning Commission meetings, reviews of city contracts and ordinances, and responses to public record requests. This fiscal year the city will pay about $130,000 in retainer fees, by Colangelo’s estimate. But if the firm had billed the city for every hour worked, Laredo says, the total would have been closer to $200,000.

Despite P.G.’s high payout to contracted lawyers, Laredo questions the cost-effectiveness of hiring a staff attorney. On top of salary and benefits, he says, the city would have to pony up legal library fees, malpractice insurance, postage, copying, state bar fees and continuing education costs.

P.G. Looking For A Full Time Lawyer

Voters Approve Tax

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$300,000 difference on items sold but not delivered in the city. Art Galleries most likely the dead weight on the economy.

The 1 percent that the city already gets as its share of the sales tax brings in $1.6 million a year, he said, noting that the $300,000 difference is because of sales orders placed and delivered outside the city that are not subject to the increase. Becklenberg described Measure U as a “district” tax applicable only to transactions within town borders.

Vehicles purchased outside the city but registered in Pacific Grove will be subject to the tax, City Attorney David Laredo said.

Voters Approve Tax

Hear-Old Says Yes On “U”

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Herald Hear-old

Public safety salaries and pensions have lost touch with private sector wages and benefits partly because city councils and boards of supervisors were not as frugal as they should have been, but even more so because cities and counties are competing from a shrinking pool of candidates. Fixing the too-costly pension system in California will require a systematic, statewide approach, not anything city by city.

Measure U on the June 3 ballot would raise sales tax from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent. It doesn’t apply to groceries or other major expenses such as rent. It would provide the city about $1.3 million each year, much of it paid by tourists and visitors. On average, the additional tax is expected to cost each resident less than $5 per month.

It would provide the city about $1.3 million each year, much of it paid by tourists and visitors.

Tax the Tourists!!

Hear-Old Says Yes On “U”

One For You 8.25 Percent For Me

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Sales taxes only produce revenue when there are taxable things being sold.

The City Council voted unanimously March 5 to put the measure on the June 3 ballot to meet a March 7 filing deadline with the county Registrar of Voters.

Measure U, if approved, would raise the sales tax from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent, with the additional cent on the dollar going to the city general fund.

Money Calculator

One For You 8.25 Percent For Me

We Will Vote Again To Raise Taxes

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Jeanne, if an extra penny on the dollar will drive your customers to Monterey, your fabrics are way to expensive already.

The Pacific Grove City Council voted unanimously to put a measure on the June 3 ballot that, if approved, would raise the sales tax from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent, with the additional cent on the dollar going to the city general fund.

That 13.8 percent increase in the sales tax rate is expected to raise an additional $1.3 million annually in revenues, said city Director of Management and Budget Jim Becklenberg.

But Jeanne Graham, owner of the Handmaden craft and fabric store, argued that raising the sales tax will drive residents to shop in neighboring Monterey.

We Will Vote Again To Raise Taxes