At least we’re not Vallejo

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

…Vallejo is on the brink of a dubious distinction - becoming the first city in California to declare bankruptcy.

The fiscal crisis, which comes more than three years after the state took over the city’s debt-ridden public schools, is a result of snowballing police and firefighter salaries and overtime expenses coupled with plummeting tax revenue from the weak housing market, officials say.

In response, the City Council is considering cutbacks at the city’s library, its public swimming pool and its history museum as the city faces the prospects of running out of cash in the coming weeks, officials said Wednesday.

…

Gomes and others have blamed much of the city’s financial woes on police and fire contracts, which she says comprise 80 percent of the city’s $80 million budget.

The starting salary for a Vallejo firefighter is about $70,000 a year, among the highest in the state. Ten firefighters earned more than $200,000 each last year, including overtime, city officials said.

…

Officials say the Solano County city is likely to run out of cash in a few weeks as a result of expenses that are expected to exceed revenues by about $10 million this year.

Expenses: Salaries and overtime for police officers and firefighters have burgeoned as a result of union contracts and staff shortages that have forced public safety workers to put in extended hours.

Revenues: The souring economy has hit the city hard, resulting in nearly $2 million less revenue from sales and property taxes than expected.

All I can say is: wow and thank goodness.   As bad as it may get in Alameda at least our city is not considering declaring bankruptcy to solve the budget problems.