Ruminating with the City Manager this morning:
To mark his 9-month anniversary on the job, John Nachbar’s shoulders alternately pointed skyward and groundward as he mulled the meaning, Zen or otherwise, of the revised state budget, including a $6.6 billion windfall, that Gov. Brown guardedly introduced two days ago.
Who knows?
While reporters have bobbed from office to office of city and school officials since Monday morning in pursuit of a meaningful interpretation, Mr. Nachbar’s take sounded familiar.
“I still am in the midst of trying to discern it,” he said. “I haven’t heard a lot. The news is obviously helpful from what I am able to discern, helpful but it doesn’t come close to solving the problem.
“I was reading an interesting analysis this morning that thought this budget would make it harder to seek a solution, relieving the pressure.
“I don’t have the greatest vantage point, other than reading the same things you are.
“I don’t anticipate his budget will have any effect on the city.
“You know the governor is pressing for the elimination of redevelopment. This budget doesn’t appear to have relieved any of that pressure.
“His attempts appear to be in a stalemate mode. Stalemates can change overnight, in either direction.
“I heard one person say we could be in the eye of the storm, meaning there is more storm to come.
“If you are in the eye of a storm,” says the man from Kansas, “you have weathered the first half but the back half is still to come.
“I don’t know,” Mr. Nachbar said, looking around for company and finding it. “I don’t think anyone knows.”
