By Bill Baker, J.D.
Editor and Publisher, The San Bruno Beacon
The San Bruno City Council and Government advertise San Bruno as "The City With a Heart". My opinion is, that insofar as San Bruno's residents are concerned, this is false advertising. In my opinion, San Bruno's City Council & government have no heart or mercy for San Bruno's residents when it comes to raising rates & fees on City services and providing San Bruno's residents with a fiscally stable City. The City of San Bruno has a chronic budget deficit of about $500,000 every year.
At the Tuesday, June 12th San Bruno City Council meeting, the City Council will probably rubber stamp a 7.23% rate increase for the San Bruno Garbage Company. The San Bruno Garbage company appears to be the beneficiary of never ending rounds of annual rate increases by this City Council. Last year, at the May 23, 2006 City Council meeting, this City Council rubber stamped another 3.22% rate increase requested by the San Bruno Garbage Company. At the June 28, 2005 San Bruno City Council meeting, the San Bruno Garbage Company was given a 3.386% rate increase by the San Bruno City Council.
San Bruno's residents are being hit, by the San Bruno City Council and Government, with the same type of never-ending rubber stamp rate increases for City of San Bruno Water Service and Consumption fees, Sewer Service Fees, Sewer Usage fees, and San Bruno Cable TV rates as well as the rates and fees charged for other City provided services. If you are a San Bruno resident, take a close look at your bill for water, sewer, and garbage services.
However, when it comes to management level City of San Bruno employees, the San Bruno City Council hands out taxpayer money like candy on Halloween to pay for salary increases, generous retirement plans, healthcare benefits, and other perks.
In a January 9, 2007 Daily Journal article, Mayor Franzella, stated, "I personally don't believe that employees should have to pay [for health insurance]". Of course he doesn't, he thinks San Bruno's residents & taxpayers should. No health insurance co-pays for City employees means that the budget deficit gets even worse. As of January 9, 2007, The Daily Journal reported that employees currently pay $450 monthly for health care. It was also reported that the new plan then under consideration would cover 100 percent of the individual cost and 80 percent for an individual and family. Is it any wonder why the City of San Bruno has a chronic budget deficit, and San Bruno's residents are continuously punished year after year with soaring rates and fees, when San Bruno has a Mayor who engages in this type political pandering to the City's public employees and their unions during an election year.
In the 07/06/2006 Daily Journal San Bruno Mayor Franzella said, "We're looking forward to next year (2007). If we did everything as well as we did last year then we'll be in the black." Franzella thinks things are doing well in San Bruno when the City has a chronic $500,000+ budget deficit. Franzella, the financial wizard (does Franzella have a college degree?), said this when the City of San Bruno had a $556,585 +/- deficit. This year, once again, as reported in the 05/14/2007 Daily Journal, "San Bruno is looking at another $500,000 deficit for the upcoming year".
To add insult to injury, the San Bruno City Council intends to raise the financial pain level on San Bruno's residents even higher. At their June 12, 2007 meeting they are going to decide whether they should put a parcel or sales tax measure on the ballot to pay for a new City Library. Of course; the City of San Bruno already has a library & there is a lot of debate about whether libraries are even necessary in the internet age. However, that is a discussion for another article.
The reason why San Bruno's residents are being drowned in never ending rate & fee increases on City sponsored services is because San Bruno's City Council and Government are out of control and refuse to put the brakes on spending. San Bruno should have a budget surplus to draw upon in an emergency; not a budget deficit that will surely lead the City down the path to bankruptcy if economic times turn from bad to worse. Think of the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year that San Bruno's taxpayers could save by shutting down the San Bruno Public Library. After all, there are libraries all over San Mateo County. Do we need a library in every one of San Mateo County's small cities? From an economic standpoint, the answer is clearly no. How about having a ballot measure to close San Bruno's Public Library?
Finally, to reverse all of the reckless spending and financial damage that the San Bruno City Council has inflicted upon San Bruno's residents, San Bruno needs to privatize certain city services. There also needs to be an immediate reduction in City staff and / or salaries and benefits for City employees; starting with all management employees who are not members of the police and fire departments. There also needs to be a thorough independent analysis and restructuring of San Bruno's City Government so that all inefficiencies are taken out of the system. 