Fiscal Responsibility & Leadership

By Jack Barrett

Increase City revenue without new taxes or fees, abide by federal laws, and fully support or police and fire depts.

There is a policy in place to maintain at least 27% of our $10 million general fund in reserves. The $483,000 we now maintain is only about 4.8%. The city is currently overspending $10 for every $8.35 it takes in. Running our city is a $20 million a year business, and anyone can tell you that you can't continue to spend more than you make and expect to survive for long. We currently have $75,000 in uncollected mooring fees in our harbor and a top-heavy administration. Cuts need to be made and we must start to live within our means if we are to survive.

In order to meet our needs after the recent earthquake forced us to condemn our firehouse, the city--under Measure Q--encouraged us to vote in a half cent raise in our local sales tax. Well, it worked this time. But what about the future? We can't keep raising taxes in order to survive. To counter this, the current administration has enacted a $15,000 in-lieu-of-parking tax on our business and store owners that has caused an alarming rise in vacancies in our downtown area. They have recently raised the building fees by 500%, all but putting a halt to major remodels and new construction. These irrsponsible actions on the part of our leaders costs our city money that is seriously needed if we are to continue.

And now, at a time when our entire fishing fleet is threatened with extinction, their salmon season taken away from them and they are being forced to purchase expensive GPS devices with a monthly fee attached, the fishermen's docking fees have been raised by the city 6 1/2 percent for boats that will no longer feed their families and they can no longer afford to own.

And now for the coup de grace: Not long ago we allowed the opening of a medical marijuana store contrary to federal law and the advice of our own police dept. in our downtown area, which was eventually closed when the operator was caught and jailed for selling pot to our kids out the back door. No other city in the county, or the county government itself, would allow such an enterprise to operate. But not Morro Bay. I believe this unreasonable act of defiance of federal law was envisioned as a sizable sales tax increase when pot seekers from far and wide came into town to purchase their drugs that were available no where in the county. This decision was extremely bad judgment and a shows a gross lack of leadership.

As a successful businessman, I don't need another job. But it's plain to see that there is a serious lack of leadership in Morro Bay. That's why I'm running for city council and ask for your vote on June 3rd.