Going before the Chamber of Commerce board yesterday morning to seek their endorsement for a return engagement on the City Council was as routine for Andy Weissman as having lunch with his wife or playing with his young grandchildren.
In his fourth decade of community service, there aren’t any firsts or new experiences left for the Councilman.
Everybody on the Chamber board knows Mr. Weissman or should. He is the Papa Bear of the Council, the father figure, the calming, mature voice, at all times but especially when others become riled.
Of the five questions he was asked to win the Chamber’s endorsement, his favorite was:
What will you do to continue to maintain the present level of city services in view of the loss of Redevelopment Agency revenues and the continuing economic malaise?
“This is a dilemma we will have to confront over the next few years,” Mr. Weissman said as he seeks his second four-year term on April 10.
“We have eliminated positions. We have shrunk the employee staff. To the extent that the city had perceived fat we could get rid of, we have pretty much trimmed all of it. The loss of redevelopment means we will lose more muscle.
Reaching the Lean Stage
“There only is so much you can do on the expense side. As uncomfortable as it is going to be, we will have to have the discussion in the not-distant future over ways to raise revenues.
“You can’t eliminate the structural deficit; you can’t continue to provide the same exceptional level of service to the community without a strategy to increase revenue.
“The T-O-T, the transit occupancy tax, is on the ballot in April. If it passes, it will result in a modest increase in the General Fund. If memory serves, we may be looking at a $300,000 increase in T-O-T revenue on an annual basis, if the voters agree.
“When you are looking at a General Fund budget of $80 million-plus, it is helpful but not especially meaningful.
“We will have to contemplate revenue increases. If we are unable to grow our revenues, if the public is not supportive of the idea of increases on the local level, we will have to make critical expense-related decisions that will affect the quality of life across our community.
Targeted Services
“Layoffs are possible in that scenario. Elimination of certain services is possible, though I don’t know what they may be.
“Here is a possible example, although there may be an enterprise fund that factors into this. We pick up trash once a week. It may be necessary to go to a longer period between pickups.
“Tree-trimming – we already are on a four- or five-year cycle across the city. That period may become seven or eight years.
“The nature of what we may have to do to close the gap between revenue and expenses lies in things people will begin to notice. I hope the community appreciates the level of services. I hope they recognize they need to be paid for. I hope they value these services enough to go along with the revenue-generating ideas.
“We have not had that discussion yet,” Mr. Weissman said. “We need to very shortly.
“ I don’t want the public to feel the pain in order to understand this is a real problem. It is not a fiction, not a threat. The Council will have to go the community, and the people will have an opportunity to agree or disagree.”
Mr. Weissman’s campaign site is weissmanforcouncil.com
