Is Your Town Next? Cancel The title field is required!

1. Peter Bowman

   

   11 posts
   
   6/27/2012 8:06 AM

   Yep, we're bankrupt here in Stockton.

   
   
   
   
2. Wallace Jeffrey V

   
   6/27/2012 10:06 AM

   I can loan you guys 5 bucks. Wait.....I have some change here. Okay, $5.62.

   
   
   
   
3. Peter Bowman

   

   11 posts
   
   6/27/2012 6:06 PM

   Jeffrey Wallace, CGCS said: I can loan you guys 5 bucks. Wait.....I have some change here. Okay, $5.62.

   
   
   Thanks. That makes seven bucks between us.

   
   
   
   
4. Trevor Monreal

   

   5 posts
   
   6/27/2012 7:06 PM

   That's too bad. Aside from the high crime rate, the city being in bankruptcy, and the fact that it's in California, Stockton is a nice place.
   Is there any chance a hurricane can run up the port so Stockton can be declared a disaster area? That way you guys can tap into the "stimulus" reserve funds...I'm sure there is some left over.

   
   
   
   
5. Wallace Jeffrey V

   
   6/27/2012 9:06 PM

   Peter Bowman, CGCS said:

   Jeffrey Wallace, CGCS said: I can loan you guys 5 bucks. Wait.....I have some change here. Okay, $5.62.

   
   
   Thanks. That makes seven bucks between us.

   
   
   You only have $1.38? Have you been gambling again? And I just found out the money order will cost me $3.00. You might need to sell that old crescent wrench in your garage. The one hanging above your table saw. On the right. No....on your right. That's the one.

   
   
   
   
6. Gary Carls

   

   20 posts
   
   6/28/2012 9:06 AM

   Pete,
   
   Perhaps you should organize a car wash or bake sale???
   
   Gary

   
   Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
   
   
7. McCallum David K

   
   6/28/2012 9:06 AM

   Bake sales are great...............just don't try and do it in Ft Collins anytime soon.........for those that have a clue as to what I am talking about.

   
   
   
   
8. Sandy Clark

   

   0 posts
   
   7/3/2012 9:07 AM

   The small town of Mammoth lakes just joined Pete's city today. Pretty much any city in California could follow at any moment. That is what happens when all you want to do is tax and all of your job creators are taking their business to other States!

   
   
   
   
9. Steve Nelson

   

   0 posts
   
   7/3/2012 9:07 AM

   The Mammoth Lakes case is sort of a one off though Sandy. That little town had a huge legal judgement go against them to the tune of about $43M, a sum that dwarfs their annual budget. It's a small resort town and the real estate values are very high, they got involved in a development deal with a big player, tried to back out and now owe more than they can pay.
   
   Sometimes I think that will happen here too. The people in this town are so anti development but the city sometimes gets involved supporting a particular development that would improve the economy, only to have it shot down in a voter referendum. One of these times our lawyer will miss something and we will get sued back to the stone age like Mammoth.

   
   
   
   
10. Clay Putnam

    

    33 posts
    
    7/4/2012 7:07 AM

    Peter Bowman, CGCS said: Yep, we're bankrupt here in Stockton.

    
    
    
    Come on over to Hoosier country. We're rolling in dough. Our man Mitch is making it "rain".
    
    http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/indiana/indiana-s-billion-in-reserve-triggers-taxpayer-refund-topping/article_b6c3cf2d-c7fb-5704-a2e6-2a786814699d.html

    
    
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    7/4/2012 10:07 AM

    Interesting article Clay,
    
    Some good budget decisions but also as stated, I would say some bad ones too. We short fund our children's services as well, and unfortunately child abuse is higher here. Not to say all that money would correct the problem, and the problem in my opinion is generational as well, abused kids probably grow up to be abusers as well. Of course there is the whole debate the difference between spanking and abusing, I suppose.
    
    Interesting that tax revenues from business wasn't put into the general fund like it should have been.
    
    Did like that some of the extra would go to fund teachers, well their pensions, but hey it's all part of their compensation, but still going toward education somewhere.
    
    Clay, by the way, how did your state do so well these last two years? Cutting was one, but wouldn't revenues being up is the other? Aren't there a lot of industries in Indiana that support the auto industry? Maybe the president saving the auto industry coupled with a republican governor is the way we should work in the future, I hear in Ohio that is working as well. Maybe if the voters really thought about it, maybe they don't want Gov. Romney?
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Ronald Kirkman

    

    42 posts
    
    7/4/2012 1:07 PM

    Mel,
    
    How much money does the Auto Industry owe us tax payers or is the money going to the union members.
    
    Capt. Kirk
    Retired Alien
    Needham Golf Club
    Needham, MA 02492

    
    
    
    
13. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    7/4/2012 6:07 PM

    Ronald Kirkman said: Mel,
    
    How much money does the Auto Industry owe us tax payers or is the money going to the union members.
    
    Capt. Kirk
    Retired Alien
    Needham Golf Club
    Needham, MA 02492

    
    
    Good question Capt. but I do believe it's better then paying out unemployment to all of those people, at least they are paying taxes on their salaries.
    
    Did just see in our paper today that our state has a surplus as well. I know some incentives were given to Ford to keep their Claycomo plant running strong. Dodge did close a plant down just outside St. Louis a couple of years ago.
    
    State revenue exceeds expectations
    
    Budget director says $39 million doesn't lessen the need for cuts
    
    By David A. Lieb
    
    Associated Press
    
    JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri ended its 2012 fiscal year with slightly better-than-expected revenues, but the influx of mil­lions of additional dollars doesn't necessarily lessen the need for spending cuts, the state's budget director said Tuesday.
    
    The state reported more than $7.3 billion in general revenues, primarily from income and sales taxes, during the fiscal year that ended Saturday. That was up more than 3.2 percent compared with the 2011 fiscal year and ex­ceeded the projected 2.7 percent growth rate upon which the bud­get was based.
    
    The fiscal year turned out to be "just a little bit better than ex­pected," said Linda Luebbering, the director of budget and plan­ning for Gov. Jay Nixon's ad­ministration.
    
    The bottom line is that Mis­souri took in about $39 million more than anticipated, Luebber­ing said.
    
    But she said that doesn't translate to a budget surplus. Luebbering said the additional money will help cover higher­than- budgeted expenses for di­saster costs, legal cases and oth­er items. She said the extra reve­nues also partially make up for the fact that legislators never au­thorized an amnesty program for overdue taxpayers, as had been assumed in the 2012 bud­get.
    
    Before the 2013 fiscal year be­gan Sunday, Gov. Jay Nixon an­nounced that he was blocking the expenditure of about $15 million — largely for higher education institutions — because he be­lieved the budget was out of bal­ance. The cuts could be reversed or expanded, depending on state revenues. But Luebbering said it was too soon for either course of action.
    
    House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan Silvey, R-Lee's Summit, said the better­ than- expected revenues during the recently con­cluded fiscal year shows that the Democratic gov­ernor was unwarranted in announcing cuts to the current budget.
    
    "It was political — he just wanted to be seen as taking decisive action reining in spending when the reality is we're starting fiscal 2013 with $70 million more than an­ticipated," Silvey said.
    
    Silvey said his esti­mate of the state's begin­ning cash balance takes into account both the addi­tional revenues from 2012 and the fact that state agencies left more money unspent during this past year than the budget had assumed.
    
    Silvey and Luebbering both said last year's reve­nue figures contained some encouraging news. Most notably, individual income tax collections were up nearly 3.8 percent compared with the previ­ous year.
    
    "That is the best sign that we can point to that things — although slow­ly— are starting to turn around," Luebbering said.

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
14. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    7/11/2012 10:07 AM

    San Bernardino just joined the list of California cities that have filed for bankruptcy protection.

    
    
    
    
15. Keith Lamb

    

    3 posts
    
    7/11/2012 12:07 PM

    http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/10/12659748-scranton-pa-slashes-workers-pay-to-minimum-wage

    
    
    
    
16. Steven Huffstutler

    

    11 posts
    
    7/12/2012 5:07 AM

    Sandy Clark, CGCS said: San Bernardino just joined the list of California cities that have filed for bankruptcy protection.

    
    
    
    My home town. I escaped when I was 19.
    
    Steve

    
    
    
    
17. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    7/12/2012 8:07 AM

    Steve, they have decided that bankruptcy is the only way they can renegotiate the union contracts of their municipal employees. As all the others, they promised far more than capable of delivering. Benefits are driving them over the edge.

    
    
    
    
18. Steve Nelson

    

    0 posts
    
    7/12/2012 12:07 PM

    Actually, as with Stockton, it is foreclosures that are causing the problem. San Berdoo had already cut 20% of its workforce and won labor concessions from remaining employees. Stockton and SB were top of the charts on foreclosures, propery values had dropped 66% from 2006 levels. Little known fact- banks don't pay property taxes on properties that they have foreclosed on. It is just held in arrears and made up when and if it is ever sold again. Expectations from the public for services never go away, and costs are always rising. In this case their revenue streams have all but dried up.
    
    Public safety pensions affect every city in Cali. Not all are going bankrupt. The common thread so far is foreclosure rates.

    
    
    
    
19. Steven Huffstutler

    

    11 posts
    
    7/12/2012 1:07 PM

    Sandy Clark, CGCS said: Steve, they have decided that bankruptcy is the only way they can renegotiate the union contracts of their municipal employees. As all the others, they promised far more than capable of delivering. Benefits are driving them over the edge.

    
    
    The same thing is happening with us military retirees, the Pentagon is saying that retiree benefits are killing them and they are working real hard to dramatically increase the cost of our insurance. At this point, I'm just glad to have any insurance at all.
    San Bernardino has historically had a very corrupt government, I'm not surprised it has come to this.
    
    Steve

    
    
    
    
20. Wallace Jeffrey V

    
    7/12/2012 3:07 PM

    Is Naples next? I understand it is a rather poor community. Food kitchens cutting back on caviar, etc. Is the National Enquirer correct? Or are they simply changing from Beluga to Costco brand?

    
    
    
    
21. Steven Huffstutler

    

    11 posts
    
    7/12/2012 3:07 PM

    Jeffrey Wallace, CGCS said: Is Naples next? I understand it is a rather poor community. Food kitchens cutting back on caviar, etc. Is the National Enquirer correct? Or are they simply changing from Beluga to Costco brand?

    
    
    The economic downturn hurt us, too. Working class families have lost their homes in droves (mostly, in my opinion, due to buying more house than they could really afford and banks willingness to lend money to people that they shouldn't have). Naples and the surrounding county are experience money crunches just like everyone else due to lower taxes from property that is worth a whole lot less than it used to be and the virtual halt of development which our economy was based on. The city of Naples is unlikely to go into default any time soon, though. We will probably have to pave the streets with silver instead of gold, though. Thanks for your concern.
    
    Steve

    
    
    
    
22. Wallace Jeffrey V

    
    7/12/2012 3:07 PM

    You're welcome. Empathy is one of my greatest attributes. But you know that.

    
    
    
    
23. Wahlin Scott B

    
    7/12/2012 4:07 PM

    It would appear that the developers working in Palm Beach County are expecting an upsurge in demand for new homes. There are two 150 acre, high density projects in the works within 10-15 minutes from my house plus a number of other smaller developments. This with 1 in 4 sales right now involving some sort of distressed property and foreclosures up 9%. "May you live in interesting times." - Chinese Curse