First of City Budget Workshops on Tuesday

As the annual budget-making season begins, Pinole officials will be looking at two scenarios, one with and one without the extension of a utility user tax.

The Pinole City Council will get its first presentation of the proposed budget during a workshop at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the City Council chamber, 2131 Pear St. A second workshop is scheduled for a week later. Both meetings will be broadcast live on Pinole TV and will be open to the public.

After several years of stagnant or declining sales and property tax stream, there is no forecast for an infusion of revenue in the immediate future. Even with employee layoffs, attrition and some salary concessions in recent years, the city will struggle to balance the budget.

The 8 percent utility tax currently paid by ratepayers is due to expire at the end of this year. It provides about $2 million, or about 20 percent of general fund revenue per year.

It's expected that voters will be asked to extend the expiration date of the tax on a November ballot measure. A simple majority would be required to pass the extension.

The dissolution of the city's redevelopment agency this year also has taken a bite out of revenues that otherwise would have come indirectly to the city. Some of that redevelopment money had been used to pay for the portion of salaries spent on conducting redevelopment-related work.

The loss of redevelopment also means the loss of more than $500,000 a  year in lease payments that the city used to earn for leasing the Pinole Valley and Pinole Vista Crossing shopping centers. The city is in the process of selling those properties to the developer that manages those centers.

Another uncertainty is the outcome of labor negotiations with union groups that represent city firefighters, police department employees and other staff. The council voted to impose a contract on the firefighters union last year after negotiations stalled. That contract is due to expire July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.