Citizens Pay Enough Taxes to Provide Quality Services, Not to Pay for Lawyers and Consultants.
By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at patch.com
After 20 years of corrupt business practices the City of Beaumont is attempting to develop a factual Budget. Their Fiscal Year began July 1st, but not one member of Council or Staff has ever developed a budget, so they must rely on the Consulting Firm of Urban Futures.
Urban Futures presented projected Revenues for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 to Beaumont’s City Council on July 28th. Revenues included $9 Million in Mitigation Fees, but Council voted to reimburse all of Pardee Homes’ Mitigation Fees the week before. Pardee Homes also claims that the City of Beaumont ‘owes them’ for past Mitigation Fee Reimbursements.
Revenues projected also included an increase in Beaumont’s Sales Tax, but it has been revealed that the City has been artificially inflating their Sales Tax Revenue by illegally using a State Resale License when purchasing supplies.
Beaumont has also been collecting an additional $6 Million/year by overcharging Mello Roos Taxes to Property Owners. The City will no longer be able to violate State Laws in order to increase their revenue stream.
On July 28th Urban Futures told the Beaumont City Council that they are running a Deficit in their General Fund. Council was told in the past that they have a deficit, but Council has no reaction and took no action because they don’t understand that it means that their bank account is overdrawn.
All Government Agencies in California receive enough tax revenue to provide their services and Beaumont is no exception. However, Beaumont does not receive enough tax revenue to continue to spend millions every year on lawyers, consultants, and developers.
In the next few weeks the City of Beaumont will attempt to set a Budget for Fiscal Year 2015/2016. Council will have to choose between paying Staff and providing Services to the Community or continuing to pay excessive fees to Lawyers and Consultants. The City can not afford both.
Citizens of Beaumont must speak out against any Staff Budget Cuts. The City’s Staff has already decreased from 194 employees in 2013 to 166 employees currently employed with the City. Many of the employees that have left the City were from the Police Department.
Beaumont’s Employee Payroll can be partly attributed to the unnecessary use of Police and other City Staff at private events and Council Meetings. When Clubs and Charities host events they should hire private staff and security, not the Police Department and other City Staff.
Beaumont Council Members’ need to have a strong police presence at every City Council Meeting is a waste of taxpayer’s money and a sign of a guilty conscious.
The Sewer Plant is in poor condition and can not produce Title 22 Compliant Water. It is unknown how many millions it will cost to repair and upgrade the Sewer Plant because Urban Logic has controlled the Facility for over 20 years and continues to control the Facility to this day.
In order to provide adequate fire protection the City of Beaumont must build three Fire Stations. The City has collected an approximately $25 Million in Bond Funds, Mitigation Fees, and Taxes, but there is only a few hundred thousand that can be attributed to the Fire Station Fund.
Beaumont Roads are in horrendous condition and are inadequate for the population. The City recently opened a Gas Tax Bank Account that currently holds $440,000. Beaumont collects $2 Million/year from the State Gas Tax that’s designated for road repair, but in the past all the money was used to pay Urban Logic.
And then there is the Western Riverside Council of Government’s TUMF Judgement at $60 Million and growing. This has already been in Appeal for over a year and will most likely be settled in the next Fiscal Year. The City will have to pay off the Judgment in 10 years, but has no contingency in place nor has Council ever acknowledged the severity of the situation.
The Cities of Stockton and San Bernardino were once prosperous, but are now crime ridden and impoverished; not because their cities do not generate enough revenue to provide necessary public services, but because instead of paying City Employees the Cities are wasting their money on Lawyers and Consultants.
From June 11th to 24th the City of San Bernardino paid $1.4 Million to 16 different Legal and Consulting Firms, $170,000 of which was paid to Urban Futures. Now San Bernardino is disbanding their Fire Department for lack of funds.
Beaumont does not have to end up in a ruins, but Citizens and Employees must stand together or Council will continue to decrease services to pay Lawyers and Consultants.