Sanger Herald 6-20-19 E-edition

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WeeklyNewspaper Sanger(FresnoCounty)CA93657 50¢ (taxincluded)
Capital
Chart created by Sanger Herald
'Wages and benefits' make up
almost 3/4 of the fiscal year
2019-2020 general fund budget
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
The council took very little time at its June 13 meeting to approve an overall city budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 of about $47 million with a general fund budget of a little more than $13.6 million.
City manager Tim Chapa's total
2018 wages and benefits package was $221,559.04,
Councilmember Humberto Garza said he would vote grudgingly for this budget, but would vote against future city budgets unless nonprofits with gang and drug prevention/in- tervention programs got a bigger share of the Measure S public safety tax money.
The chamber of commerce had $10,000 added to its contract at Garza's request because the chamber will be responsible for organizing two new events, a Cinco de Mayo and a September 16 celebration. There were few other substantive changes.
The overall budget which includes rev- enues and expenses of the city's utility funds has a projected deficit of $3.2 million. The general fund, however, has a projected sur- plus of a little more than $75,000.
General fund revenue of $14 million is what pays for the city's day to day expenses
Hurtado is praised for $4 million windfall
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
The City of Sanger is going to get $4 million from the state to help with much needed water projects.
The windfall will be used to offset the cost of a large water storage tank, construc- tion of a new water well and to help the unincorporated area south of Sanger known as"Tombstone"withits wa- ter supply problem.
That's according to a City of Sanger press release, which continues, "These allocations are a part of a total of $15 million allocated to Southern Central Valley
and most wages and benefits, which amount to almost three-quarters of general fund expenses.
That's not unusual.
Due to union contracts, health insurance premiums and statutory expenses such as So- cial Security and pension contributions — all of which most officials say are beyond their control — it's not unusual for the human cost of local government in California to eat up as many as seven of every 10 taxpayer dollars.
The wages, benefits, stipends and perks of Sanger's municipal (public sector) employ- ees are paid by private sector people who live, work or do business in Sanger: people who pay property, sales, utility, franchise and other taxes; buy licenses or permits; pay fines, recovery costs or service charges.
An April 30, 2019 Hoover Institution ar- ticle by Lee Ohanian, "At $140,000 Per Year, Why Are Government Workers In California Paid Twice As Much As Private Sector Work- ers?" makes it clear that public sector em- ployees in California in general make more money and have better benefits than average private sector employees doing the same job in a small town like Sanger.
It's interesting that most of the higher paid public sector employees at Sanger's city hall, including the city manager, don't live in Sanger. Yet they are the ones who make vital
decisions that affect the health, safety and welfare of those of us who do live in Sanger.
The pay discrepency is not going to change any time soon. So it's up to private sector voters to determine if the money they're shelling out for the wages, benefits, stipends and perks at city hall is being well spent.
To put that in perspective, private sector residents of Sanger have an average individu- al income of $16,620 and a median household income of $42,094 a year, according to the “BestPlaces” website.
On the other hand, city manager Tim Chapa's total 2018 wages and benefits pack- age was $221,559.04, according to the The Fresno Bee’s database of municipal worker's wages and compensation.
That may seem like a lot, but consider that Chapa is pulling down less than the city man-
ager of Reedley who made $233,449 in 2018 and the city manager of Dinuba who made $222,549 last year.
The city manager is an employee hired by the city council.
If you are among the group living, work- ing or doing business in Sanger you are also paying for stipends and perks of city council- members you elected.
“Council Members receive a stipend of $300 per month and an auto allowance of $400 per month. Council Members are also eligible for participation in group insurance benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance,” according to the Council Rules of Procedure on the Sanger city website.
Sanger's police chief also makes less per year than police chiefs in Reedley and
See BUDGET, page 7A
Senator Melissa Hurtado
communities to strengthen and support water supply in these communities. The City would like to thank the Governor's Office as well
as the State Legislature for its recognition of the need
for this funding in Sanger. Moreover, the City would like to thank newly-elected State Senator Melissa Hurtado for her strong support of these funds in the State Budget; without Senator Hurtado's commitment to the Central Valley this allocation would not have been possible."
See more of the allocation story on page 6A.
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
The council won't have much down time between approving a $47 million city budget and trying to solve a complex zoning puzzle.
No matter what it decides
to do with a state ordered rezoning of 54 acres within the city limits to accommo- date affordable housing, the decision is not going to be popular.
This will be the third time the council has had the con- troversial "Not In My Back
Yard" issue on its agenda. The first time was on
Jan. 23 at city hall when it took the council only a few minutes to agree with dozens of obviously frustrated residents who spoke during a public hearing. The council unanimously turned down a
request from city planners to rezone multiple sites within the city for affordable hous- ing.
Mayor Frank Gonzalez admonished planners to work with the planning commis- sion to reconsider sites to be rezoned and to do a better job of involving and commu- nicating with the public.
Failure to comply with the state demand could mean a cutoff of funds Sanger uses to maintain its streets.
The second time was on June 6 when the council facing a smaller but equally upset and frustrated group of residents in the community center decided to continue a public hearing to July 3 when more people could attend. The June 6 date conflicted with two well attended 8th grade promotions.
The state had revised its demand down from 63 to 54 acres to be rezoned.
That didn't seem to matter to angry residents who obvi- ously equated rezoning to imminent building of Section 8 housing in their backyards and substantially lowered property values.
If Sanger doesn't comply with the state rezoning demand it might face conse- quences that could include a state imposed building mora- torium or a cutoff of funds the city uses to maintain its streets.
The city has no plans to build anything on any of
the vacant parcels, Sanger's senior planner David Brletic
A decision that is going to be unpopular
The meeting on July 2 may be the final opportunity to express an opinion
Possible areas to be rezoned
• June 26 - School board meeting, 7 p.m. at the district office, 1905 7th St.
• June 27 - Planning commission meeting, 6 p.m. at city hall, 1700 7th St.
• July 2 - City council rezoning meeting, 6 p.m. at the community center, 730 Recreation Ave.
• July 2 - Measure S oversight meeting, 6 p.m. at city hall, 1700 7th St.
The city planning staff is recommending rezoning: Site 1, 1.15 acres; Site 20, 5.79 acres; Site 22, 20 acres; Site 27, 1.94 acres; Site 28, 2.50 acres; Site 29, 10 acres; Site 30, 5.61 acres; and Site 31, 7.12 acres. That would total 54.11 acres and satisfy the state's most recent order to rezone 54 acres somewhere within the city limits. The same sites were recommended on a majority vote of the commissioners present at a May 15 planning commission meeting. But since the recommendation was not by a majority of the total commission, because of recusals and an absence, that recommendation was not passed on to the city council.
• July 4 - City of Sanger 4th of July Spectacular, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Sanger High School practice field.
TIMES
July 4 - Sanger+Reedley+Dinuba= mid valley
See ZONING, page 7A SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thsangerherald.com
THURSDAY
June 20, 2019
VOL 130 NO. 25
2 sections, 14 pages
CLASSIFIED 5B LEGALS 6, 7B BUSINESS DIRECTORY 8B LIFE STYLES 2B OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 3A SPORTS 1B POLICE LOG 2A WEATHER 6A