Community Corner

Special Election to Extend Measure E Appears Likely

The Rohnert Park City Council unanimously declared a fiscal emergency Tuesday night, paving the way for a special election if the city choses to sometime this year.

Without declaring a fiscal emergency, they city would have to wait for the next general election November 2014.

Rohnert Park is facing a $1.4 million deficit, the sixth year in a row the council has not been able to balance its budget.

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No resolution has been passed to hold a special election, but it appears likely following the release of a survey showing 69 percent of respondents support extending Measure E, the half-cent sales tax.  (About 400 people were polled by phone.)

Measure E was approved by 55 percent of voters in 2010 and expires in 2015.

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The next special election date is November 5, 2013 and would cost the city between $47,000 and $84,000, according to Gloria Colter, assistant registrar of voters for Sonoma County.

Although some cities, including Vallejo and Stockton, have declared fiscal emergencies as a precursor to filing for bankruptcy, City Manager Gabe Gonzalez dismissed the notion that Rohnert Park was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Vallejo, Stockton, San Jose and other cities attempted to declare a fiscal emergency as a way out of collective bargaining agreements or following the breakdown of labor negotiations. Under California law, governments can alter contractual obligations when the “public’s health and welfare is in jeopardy” and if they can prove that continuing to pay salaries and retiree health benefits impairs the city’s ability to provide basic city services.

But Gonzalez dismissed the idea that Rohnert Park was seeking to do the same, saying that labor negotiations with police and fire, Service Employees International (SEIU) and management unions were continuing.

“This (declaration of fiscal emergency) doesn’t mean the city wants to reneg on its contracts,” Gonzalez said. “It just gives us flexibility.”

Vice Mayor Joe Callinan concurred, saying declaring a fiscal emergency was a way to let people know about Rohnert Park’s dire financial situation.

“Everybody thinks that we have all this money from the casino, but it’s not anything we can touch because it’s for mitigation only,” Callinan said. 

The city will use the casino funds to hire a new traffic officer and traffic sergeant as well as hire a police analyst to make sure all aspects of the agreement between Rohnert Park and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are carried out.

What do you think? Would you vote to extend Measure E?


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