Wages and taxes were the primary topics of debate at the San Luis Obispo City Council’s final budget meeting on June 21. Council members approved a new budget for the city of San Luis Obispo to be implemented during the 2011-2013 fiscal years, which began July 1.
The budget won approval in a 3-2 vote with council members Kathy Smith and Dan Carpenter dissenting.
The most divisive topicd on the agenda were possible cuts to employee salaries and benefit packages, loosely referred to as “concessions.” The council vote on these cuts was evenly split, which resulted in further discussion.
Smith and Carpenter expressed a desire for higher wage reductions and voted against the current budget. Fellow council member Andrew Carter, who previously supported increased cuts, ultimately voted in favor of lower concessions, so $2.6 million will now be cut from public sector employee concessions.
In a preliminary budget meeting, Carter stated a desired cut of $3.2 million.
“A key portion of that $3.2 million number is that, right at the moment, most of our employees don’t pay a single dime of their own pensions,” Carter said.
However, he voted against Smith’s proposed amendment to raise employee concessions from $2.6 million to $3 million.
Carpenter seconded the motion. Councilman John Ashbaugh and mayor Jan Marx also voted against it.
“The thing that was discouraging was that we had a partner in Andrew,” Smith said. “I don’t know what happened. Andrew has been the leader often for the cuts, and yet he’s the one who, in the end, did not support the cuts or didn’t support increased cuts.”
The trio was also divided over water and sewer rate increases. Smith and Carpenter voted against the increases, citing concerns about the amount and fairness of rate escalations. Carter said there was concern regarding the sewer rates and curiosity about how the numbers were derived, but eventually voted in favor of higher rates.
Water fees will increase by 10 percent and sewer rates by 9 percent during the first year and will double during the second fiscal year.
This hike in water fees is partially due to the purchase of additional water from Lake Nacimiento, intended as a form of insurance against droughts or city population growth. Council members voted to acquire this water during a 2009 budget meeting, Carter said.
However, Carter also said he disagreed with how the water is priced.
“I don’t think there’s equity in how we charge rates for water,” he said. “If I leave town for a month and don’t use any water, I don’t pay any water bill. I should pay an access fee, because the city still has to get water to my place.”
Smith voiced worry about the increase’s effect on the lower-middle class.
“I have a real concern for people who are on fixed incomes,” she said. “They’re doing their best to pull it off and to do everything appropriately. The water/sewer thing, to me, is just a slap in the face to those people.”
Carter said he had more of a problem with the sewer, rather than water, rate increases.
“I didn’t have an issue with water rates, because I knew that ultimately they tracked back to (our decision) to purchase Nacimiento water. And I felt that purchasing that water was a good thing to do,” Carter said.
Increases in sewer rates are attributed to regulatory changes, chemical costs and utility costs. Carter said he would like to see concrete evidence of these costs.
“I want it to be proven to me,” he said. “I’d like to see a trend line and not just be told that anecdotally over time.”
Citizens are invited to attend council meetings to discuss upcoming issues. A portion of each meeting is open to public comment. Meetings are held bimonthly at 7 p.m. at 990 Palm Street.