A statue of Schuyler Colfax overlooks the town that bears his name. Photo by Don Chaddock. |
City facing unexpected costs, leaner budget
This is the second in a series examining local communities.
Colfax, a city hard pressed to make ends meet, is trying to stretch its budget to fulfill its obligations.
As the Sentinel reported in its Feb. 29 edition, Colfax lost 19 percent of its sales tax receipts based on third quarter 2007 compared to the same quarter in 2006. Fourth quarter sales tax figures will not be available until the end of March.
Early last year, the Colfax Chamber of Commerce held a community forum titled “Colfax: Ghost Town or Not?” as a way to kickstart an open dialogue between the residents, businesses and city government.
Businessman Gary Todd said at the time that something needed to be done quickly to improve the business climate.
“There’s nobody in town,” he said last year. “Locals are great, but they don’t keep the businesses going. (If something isn’t done,) this town is going to be a ghost town.”
The meeting seems to have worked as the Colfax Chamber of Commerce took a lead role in improving signage to help visitors navigate the town. A new billboard has gone up along Interstate 80 to help entice motorists to stop and, hopefully, shop.
Jim Wood spoke at the meeting last year and stressed the need for the town to focus on its roots.
“The railroad built this town,” he said. “The railroad will be the only thing that make this town work. We’ll never be a boutique town like Nevada City.”
At the time, Wood was spearheading the effort to get a railroad museum open in Colfax.
Last year, the City Council cut the budget to keep spending under control. After much debate last September, the council voted to slash the city engineer’s budget in half, transfer $30,000 into a contingency fund and eliminate funding for a council meeting camera operator and to pay someone to handle the farmers’ market in downtown.
After the September meeting, City Councilman Jim Albright called the budget “one of the leanest” the city had passed in years.
This year, Albright is serving as mayor and he said the city’s budget is in the black by $36,000. It’s a figure that’s very close to the cuts the council made last fall.
The budget is tight and when asked if the moves by the council in September helped keep the city’s budget going, he said he thought it certainly helped.
“The sales tax is down,” he said. “That’s a big portion of our monies. Winner Chevrolet is a big contributor.”
With the city’s largest sales tax payer being an auto dealer, it puts the city in an awkward position. The auto industry has taken a big hit with new car sales tax figures down 13.3 percent in the state and analysts predict another drop of 6.5 percent in 2008. Recovery isn’t predicted until June 2009, according to a recent report.
“This coming year’s budget is going to be an interesting one,” Albright said. “It’s tough being a small town with a small amount of monies coming in. (But,) Colfax is lucky in the sense the housing foreclosures haven’t hit Colfax like other areas since we don’t have the big subdivisions.”
Last year, Colfax finished most of the work on a new sewage treatment plant, but cost overruns have forced the city to make some tough choices. Damage to City Hall caused by “water intrusion” also needs to be repaired.
Albright said the city is looking at creative ways to finance the repairs and keep themselves afloat.
“Of course, we’re a lot better off than Vallejo,” he said, referring to the Bay Area city that has made headlines contemplating bankruptcy.
In other city-related news:
– Longtime city Treasurer Betty Delgado has retired as of March 1. The elected position pays $300 per month but must be filled. The City Council is accepting applications from qualified individuals to fill out her term.
– City Councilmembers Sharon Gieras and Sherry Blackmun are up for re-election in November.
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