LBReport.com provides text of Vallejo City Manager's memo recommending Chapter 9
(May 7, 2008) -- At nearly the same moment as nearly all of LB's City Councilmembers voted to approve longer-than-usual five year contracts with LB's non-public safety city employees and firefighters unions carrying a $26.5 million General Fund impact, on top of a previously agreed amendment to the LB Police Officers Ass'n contract costing millions more, the northern CA city of Vallejo's City Council was voting to seek Chapter 9 Bankruptcy status.
LBReport.com has obtained a copy of the agendizing memo recommending Bankruptcy issued by the office of Vallejo City Manager Joseph Tanner. To view it, click here.
Additional via the SF Chronicle website: SFGate.com: Vallejo Votes To Declare Bankruptcy.
Last night's Long Beach City Council approval of the two major public employee contracts comes amid an acknowledged structural deficit and drops in property tax and sales tax revenues.
LB Councilwoman Rae Gabelich was the sole Councilmember to vote consistently against entering into both contracts citing a lack of publicly discussed specifics on how to pay for them.
Mayor Bob Foster and City Manager Pat West have both stated that they believe the contracts are sustainable without new taxes to pay for them, saying LB City Hall will return to core city functions with leaner operations in the future, possibly with fewer city employees.
In a public colloquy with Councilman Gary DeLong (who argued against a substitute motion by Gabelich that sought a 30-delay pending a city management report on specifics of paying for the new contracts), City Manager West indicated that he will be presenting a balanced FY 09 budget to Mayor Foster on schedule in June. Councilman DeLong then voted to approve the Firefighter agreement but voted with Gabelich against a separate contract for LB's non-public-safety city employees (Int'l Ass'n of Machinists).
As separately reported last night by LBReport.com, as a LB Council majority voted to enter into the two new contracts, City Auditor Laura Doud issued a cautionary statement on the action. To read it, click here.
