We’re Number 30!
And last year we were number 29, among Orange County’s 34 cities based on per capita unrestricted net positions (UNP).
FFFF’s Bureau of Data & Statistics (FFFFBDS) was presented the following chart produced by the California Policy Center, a conservative think tank who tracks such things.
Ouch. Fullerton is way down there at the bottom – each citizen being in the red for $1050 – based on 2023 numbers from the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. We are better off than Orange, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Santa Ana.
Pretty soon Fullerton is going to have to pay the piper and we will be presented, once again, with a Measure S-type sales tax increase in the 13% range. The question is whether such a tax can pass at an election. A General Tax only needs 50%+1 but may be a tough sell; a special tax – for infrastructure, say – requires 67% a harder nut, but one where people can see what they’re getting.
An infrastructures tax does noting to alleviate Fullerton’s chronic financial mismanagement under Fitzgerald, Flory, Zahra, Quirk-Silva and Charles. It’s very clear that the liberals on the Council want the tax that eluded them in 2020.
But what about Jung and Dunlap? They are no longer able to distance themselves from Fullerton’s fiscal cliff having now been around for over four years. What have they done to ameliorate the chronic shortfall? The answer is nothing. For years the sleepy Bruce Whitaker voted no on annual budgets and he never bothered to put much thought into solving the problem.
Then there’s newcomer Jamie Valencia who’s not responsible for any part of the problem – yet. Will she go for a tax on the ballot? Her public safety union supporters will push her. Does she even understand the magnitude of Fullerton’s mismanagement? I wonder.
Of course we may be grateful that Valencia’s opponent didn’t win. Then a sales tax would have been inevitable.
Here are some thoughts:
Get rid of the FPD and hire the Sheriff. Huge savings.
Create a Downtown Business Improvement District to pay off the deficit the area creates for the budget.
Get paramedics (and drivers) off the public payroll.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. First of all, have you seen OCSD salaries? They make more money than Fullerton cops and have better benefits. They get sued just as often, if not more. Second, DTF businesses are already struggling and now you want raise their costs? How many of them will go for that? And lastly, how much would you even save by cutting the ambulance drivers? Last I checked, they don’t make a lot.
Then you wouldn’t have any objection to accepting an OCSD proposal, would you, champ?
We just ADDED ambulance drivers thanks to an incompetent, unsolicited proposal from the FFD. We should have got all city employee paramedics out of the ambulances altogether. Except that would be smart.
Poor, downtown saloons and dance clubs. Of course they can pay their way. It’s just that nobody ever demanded that they do so.
Fullerton in the bottom five…sounds about right. What do all those cities in the bottom five all have in common? Massive legacy costs in the form of unfunded pension debt and post employment medical benefits mostly from massively pensioned and benefitted public safety “heroes.” Don’t forget, one of those pensioned heroes is Jay “One-Eyed Ninja” Cincinelli.
Sorry, but Valencia can share in this blame now too…she just voted to add another 18 pensioned employees to the City’s payroll in perpetuity.
Sheriff is worse than your own po-lice department. The problem with the public safety “heroes” is how much they spend corrupting local elections and politicians. Always, always vote the opposite of what cops and fire whiners tell you to vote. Always vote opposite of what they endorse and you’ll stop digging yourselves into deeper holes.
Honest point about Valencia, however those 18 drivers may or may not get a pension based on what we know – which is a short term contract. But I have zero confidence when all is said and done the thing won’t cost more – probably a lot more.
They get a PEPRA pension.
I don’t know if their contracts will permit vesting.
The Fiscal Sustainability Committee will solve all our problems!
Funny you should mention that. I’m doing a post on its activities and members right now.