fresno elections 2008

One of the greatest myths in the history of organizational leadership is the idea that when times are hard, we need to go in and fix things. Any candidate that says “As Mayor, I’m going to go in and start making cuts” has obviously never been involved in complex budgeting that comes in a large organization. That is panic leadership and doomed to fail. First of all, you balance the budget EVERY year, not just when revenue declines. So, budgeting is a team process that involves your entire organization in good times and bad. The process doesn’t change depending on the year. It starts with a common set of principles that guide budget decisions. For instance, every budget should have to provide for quality services, make strategic investment in the future, and build a reserve for a rainy day. Each year, the amount that goes into each of the three areas changes depending on the health of the economy. Percent increases or decreases need to be systemic so that everyone shares in the joy or pain. Finally, each department will figure out how to best do their job with what they are given. The Mayor/City Manager will resolve conflicts and have the final say. Disciplined budgeting every year using this process is how you prevent the sky falling when things are tough.

I do support advocating for tax reform that returns a percentage of our income tax to Fresno. Currently, it all goes to Sacramento. Simple reform of a small percentage of our monies being returned would generate the tens of millions of dollars needed to pay and hire enough firefighters and police officers to get to the national average for salary and numbers of staff.