It's not official. But it should be. Dennis Wyatt again writes another influential media hyped opinion letter to his newspaper slamming all of the current candidates running against the council. Specifically towards Samuel Anderson and secondly towards Ben Cantu.
Why? I guess because Samuel's Letter to the Editor had received so much praise and positive feedback that Dennis feels it's time to put him in his place. No other candidate has gone this far. Not even Ben Cantu. However, Ben has been doing some pretty good writing with his letters, he still has not convinced much of the public yet because he does not get out there to campaign. Samuel has been knocking on doors since Spring making it impossible for anyone to catch up.
What Dennis Wyatt does not say is what Samuel Anderson has been saying all along and has experience in this area. Energy, Pensions and Services. It takes energy to run a city and after that comes the salaries and pensions of city workers. Then comes the services to keep the city safe in all facets of need. Strikingly, Dennis tries to compare Manteca with Vallejo by suggesting our current leaders are doing the right thing. Are they?
I beg to differ from their method because they can not be that fiscal enough with what has happened. Yes, economies go up and down all the time during periods, but we are so much invested in new technologies now that we just don't predict the future, we can actually see the future enough ahead of us that when the warning signs are there to stop the spending or else face deficits, then this tells me the current line-up of men are not doing their job. Blanket it all you want with Bass Pro and JC Penny's and Costco, it doesn't make any difference. Taking chances with city funds and methods of payments is not something to be taken lightly and if Dennis Wyatt ran his own personal checking account this way he would probably get several notices from the bank with warnings to stop it or else loose his privilege including being fined.
Anderson has made his stand very clear; don't spend when you can't, don't give loans out to Guido even if it will drag us into a family war and keep the pay-as-you-go budgeting a central tenet of the council leadership. Trying to compare cities with each other out of context is pure madness and stupidity because they can give us insight into the future of what could possibly happen especially since Vallejo is not that far from us in the Bay Area and sits close to home. Anderson wants to make the non-restrictive accounts restrictive so that the State can't steal from it.
Let me make this crystal clear: Dennis Wyatt has not mentioned what Samuel Anderson has been saying all along; the city management and employee morale is a huge problem that needs to be fixed. There are luxury positions within the city that we simply can't afford at this time and they need to be eliminated. Also, Anderson and Cantu agree on making drastic changes to the cities codes in order to improve services and our quality of life. What happened Dennis? You're not listening just like the council is not listening. Last, what about the infamous 'Rainy Day Fund'? It only appears during re-election time when it suits the candidates the most.
Dennis Wyatt mentions "structured deficit". What he means or what he should have said is structural deficit. There is no such thing as a structured deficit. It is out of step with reality. And, how can you say a Future Deficit is not the same as a State or Federal? What? Where are you getting your math from? You did not even explain what a future deficit is. You simply wrote it off.
Manteca has changed its baseline to allow for the tax cuts for Costco and BassPro and others. In doing so, it implies that the decision has already been made. You simply can't just give a tax cut without changing your baseline. It's a bit more complicated than that, Dennis.
Under this baseline we simply increased its future deficit projections. Using this standard makes it tempting by taking it a step further by increasing deficit projections to account for restrictions on other taxes and quite possibly Measure M as an offset. Most budget advisors would say the result would be deficits far bigger than anything contemplated under current law. I agree. The Manteca city baseline may be more realistic politically, but it takes the city a step away from solving its budget problems.
It can get us into an unsustainable budget situation over the long term, if it hasn't already begun which it appears it has happened. "In the short term, we're in a 8 million dollar fiscal hole. So it's really important to hold the line," Anderson said. "The important point is: How much are the policies going to cost? All policies have a cost."
One other major item Dennis Wyatt did not mention is Measure M. Why then do we need it? Why are we the highest taxed city in the county? With all this development and conservative fiscal calculations and great decisions from the current council, past, current and future predictions, why then Measure M? Why did they push it? Why not dissolve it RIGHT NOW? I can continue with all the blunders the current council has made with developers and our city services including the bulbs in downtown Manteca. Roads and alley's that need to be paved and fixed that only come up during election year politics. You want the bombs to stop Dennis? Then stop throwing them yourself, especially on behalf of the current Manteca city council incumbents. Let them fight their own battles.
It appears that all Dennis can do is write about what he feels is best for the city and I'll say it again, why don't you run for city council? Hell, I'll even vote for you as Manteca's first Emperor.
Suggesting that past 'friends of the tax payers' and pandering drove services into the ground are simply half-truths. You seem to forget what current candidates expect is a balance, not bonds and measures to keep us out of trouble all the time. Your bias attempt as posting an opinion yourself is rude and crude as it attacks the candidates when you yourself stated in the beginning of your article, "people lob political bombs left and right as the campaign frenzy picks up." Look who is throwing the bombs, too. It goes to show us all that journalism is non-existent today and so blatantly offensive to the point they just don't care how stupid or crazy their madness is. It's the same as Obama getting a free pass with all the unanswered questions. Dennis Wyatt is giving the current council a free pass, too.
Dennis mentions that there is "only one way" that Manteca can become a Vallejo. Get real! My God, are you that obtuse to think that we can't come up with any other way? There seems to be this new avantgarde mentality that tends to lean only one way by driving their "myopic vision that frames the world with their perceived notions of how things are and not how laws and the concept of financial responsibility require things to operate."
The news from the Manteca City Managers Office confirming yet another budget deficit is sobering, but the news should not be surprising to anyone who has been listening to the Manteca Bulletin's leading economist and the current councils leading PR spokesman, Dennis Wyatt.
The die has been cast for some time. The state's many cookie jars have been raided and are empty; one-time measures and accounting gimmicks have been used; spending on programs and services has been cut repeatedly since 2001; and taxes have been raised.
Why are we again in the same old spot, facing sizeable revenue shortfalls and I'll say it again, Measure M?
The answer is simple. Manteca's policymakers have done nothing to address the structural imbalance between the growth in spending and revenue collections. This is not a cyclical issue. We cannot just grow our way out of this problem when the state's economy finally improves. Nor can we continue to cut spending without serious risk to public safety and the health and welfare of our most vulnerable residents.
Until we make structural changes in our tax system, ongoing deficits should come as no surprise to anyone in Manteca.
Why? I guess because Samuel's Letter to the Editor had received so much praise and positive feedback that Dennis feels it's time to put him in his place. No other candidate has gone this far. Not even Ben Cantu. However, Ben has been doing some pretty good writing with his letters, he still has not convinced much of the public yet because he does not get out there to campaign. Samuel has been knocking on doors since Spring making it impossible for anyone to catch up.
What Dennis Wyatt does not say is what Samuel Anderson has been saying all along and has experience in this area. Energy, Pensions and Services. It takes energy to run a city and after that comes the salaries and pensions of city workers. Then comes the services to keep the city safe in all facets of need. Strikingly, Dennis tries to compare Manteca with Vallejo by suggesting our current leaders are doing the right thing. Are they?
I beg to differ from their method because they can not be that fiscal enough with what has happened. Yes, economies go up and down all the time during periods, but we are so much invested in new technologies now that we just don't predict the future, we can actually see the future enough ahead of us that when the warning signs are there to stop the spending or else face deficits, then this tells me the current line-up of men are not doing their job. Blanket it all you want with Bass Pro and JC Penny's and Costco, it doesn't make any difference. Taking chances with city funds and methods of payments is not something to be taken lightly and if Dennis Wyatt ran his own personal checking account this way he would probably get several notices from the bank with warnings to stop it or else loose his privilege including being fined.
Anderson has made his stand very clear; don't spend when you can't, don't give loans out to Guido even if it will drag us into a family war and keep the pay-as-you-go budgeting a central tenet of the council leadership. Trying to compare cities with each other out of context is pure madness and stupidity because they can give us insight into the future of what could possibly happen especially since Vallejo is not that far from us in the Bay Area and sits close to home. Anderson wants to make the non-restrictive accounts restrictive so that the State can't steal from it.
Let me make this crystal clear: Dennis Wyatt has not mentioned what Samuel Anderson has been saying all along; the city management and employee morale is a huge problem that needs to be fixed. There are luxury positions within the city that we simply can't afford at this time and they need to be eliminated. Also, Anderson and Cantu agree on making drastic changes to the cities codes in order to improve services and our quality of life. What happened Dennis? You're not listening just like the council is not listening. Last, what about the infamous 'Rainy Day Fund'? It only appears during re-election time when it suits the candidates the most.
Dennis Wyatt mentions "structured deficit". What he means or what he should have said is structural deficit. There is no such thing as a structured deficit. It is out of step with reality. And, how can you say a Future Deficit is not the same as a State or Federal? What? Where are you getting your math from? You did not even explain what a future deficit is. You simply wrote it off.
Manteca has changed its baseline to allow for the tax cuts for Costco and BassPro and others. In doing so, it implies that the decision has already been made. You simply can't just give a tax cut without changing your baseline. It's a bit more complicated than that, Dennis.
Under this baseline we simply increased its future deficit projections. Using this standard makes it tempting by taking it a step further by increasing deficit projections to account for restrictions on other taxes and quite possibly Measure M as an offset. Most budget advisors would say the result would be deficits far bigger than anything contemplated under current law. I agree. The Manteca city baseline may be more realistic politically, but it takes the city a step away from solving its budget problems.
It can get us into an unsustainable budget situation over the long term, if it hasn't already begun which it appears it has happened. "In the short term, we're in a 8 million dollar fiscal hole. So it's really important to hold the line," Anderson said. "The important point is: How much are the policies going to cost? All policies have a cost."
One other major item Dennis Wyatt did not mention is Measure M. Why then do we need it? Why are we the highest taxed city in the county? With all this development and conservative fiscal calculations and great decisions from the current council, past, current and future predictions, why then Measure M? Why did they push it? Why not dissolve it RIGHT NOW? I can continue with all the blunders the current council has made with developers and our city services including the bulbs in downtown Manteca. Roads and alley's that need to be paved and fixed that only come up during election year politics. You want the bombs to stop Dennis? Then stop throwing them yourself, especially on behalf of the current Manteca city council incumbents. Let them fight their own battles.
It appears that all Dennis can do is write about what he feels is best for the city and I'll say it again, why don't you run for city council? Hell, I'll even vote for you as Manteca's first Emperor.
Suggesting that past 'friends of the tax payers' and pandering drove services into the ground are simply half-truths. You seem to forget what current candidates expect is a balance, not bonds and measures to keep us out of trouble all the time. Your bias attempt as posting an opinion yourself is rude and crude as it attacks the candidates when you yourself stated in the beginning of your article, "people lob political bombs left and right as the campaign frenzy picks up." Look who is throwing the bombs, too. It goes to show us all that journalism is non-existent today and so blatantly offensive to the point they just don't care how stupid or crazy their madness is. It's the same as Obama getting a free pass with all the unanswered questions. Dennis Wyatt is giving the current council a free pass, too.
Dennis mentions that there is "only one way" that Manteca can become a Vallejo. Get real! My God, are you that obtuse to think that we can't come up with any other way? There seems to be this new avantgarde mentality that tends to lean only one way by driving their "myopic vision that frames the world with their perceived notions of how things are and not how laws and the concept of financial responsibility require things to operate."
The news from the Manteca City Managers Office confirming yet another budget deficit is sobering, but the news should not be surprising to anyone who has been listening to the Manteca Bulletin's leading economist and the current councils leading PR spokesman, Dennis Wyatt.
The die has been cast for some time. The state's many cookie jars have been raided and are empty; one-time measures and accounting gimmicks have been used; spending on programs and services has been cut repeatedly since 2001; and taxes have been raised.
Why are we again in the same old spot, facing sizeable revenue shortfalls and I'll say it again, Measure M?
The answer is simple. Manteca's policymakers have done nothing to address the structural imbalance between the growth in spending and revenue collections. This is not a cyclical issue. We cannot just grow our way out of this problem when the state's economy finally improves. Nor can we continue to cut spending without serious risk to public safety and the health and welfare of our most vulnerable residents.
Until we make structural changes in our tax system, ongoing deficits should come as no surprise to anyone in Manteca.
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