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Town Manager Jacobs wants to remove restrictions on Bed Tax Revenues
On page iii of the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget (TMRB), Town Manager Mary Jacobs states that she will be asking the council to remove the restrictions on the Bed Tax revenues. Since bed tax is derived from hotel/motel stays, a certain percentage of the revenue is restricted to be spent on tourism projects (e.g. Visit Tucson). Bed tax should not be spent on general fund expenditures. It is a specific tax used for specific purposes.
Jacobs states: “This change results in the availability of $1.6 million of additional unassigned fund balance (above the $3 million mentioned earlier) that will strengthen even further the availability of reserves the Town can use to get through this crisis.”
Here’s an idea. How about responsible spending and reduced expenditures to get us through this “crisis?”
Paid employee health insurance for all town employees
On page iv of the TMRB, Jacobs recommends that since Town employees are not getting step/merit increases this year, that the Town should pay 100% of the premium for those employees who choose the high deductible health insurance plan. Page 18 of the TMRB shows that the plan is for the Town’s contribution to be $3.2 million and the employee’s share to be only $571,059. Question: How many employers in today’s world pay 85% of the employee’s health care? Answer: Very few.
Community Center upgrades take a backseat
On page 112 of the TMRB, she plans to spend $400,000 on the multi-use path around OV Marketplace. On page 114 she plans to spend $550,000 to restore the garage at Steam Pump ranch to be used as an employee office for the Recreation and Culture division. All this while not one penny is being spent to make the Community Center (a building we have owned for over 5 years) ADA compliant. Is it really more important to have more employee office space than it is to assist our handicapped citizens?
This is YOUR money. Shouldn’t your money be spent helping YOU?
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