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Taft, Calif. —
Listening to Councilman Dave Noerr, the senior member of the city's finance committee, seeking realtime cash flow information from the city is kind of like watching a 19th century wagonmaster facing the prospect of leading a wagon train across a long expanse of the desert.
He wants to make sure he's got enough food and water for the people, their cattle and the horses.
Just like he and the rest of the council need to know how much money the city is going to have to operate and provide services.
But the information they need can sometimes be difficult, whether its water for the horses or cash to keep the city running.
So the good councilman, like a good wagonmaster, asks those who know how much there is.
City Manager Bob Gorson is right beside Noerr, telling him about the promised land that lies across the dester, how green and fertile the Great Central Valley in California is and how much gold there is in them thar hills.
Finance Director Teresa Binkley is at his other ear, telling Noerr they'll have plenty of food and water, because her records show they're supposed to get what's owed to them by Black Bart, Jesse James and the Dalton Gang.
But where is that food and water?
Binkley says its there, because accounting rules say its there.
But Noerr doesn't want to lead the wagon train out into the desert unless he's sure.
And he doesn't really expect Bart, Jessie and the Daltons to keep their word and provide the supplies they promised.
That's about where the city is right now.
There's a long dry spell ahead, and no rain in the forecast.
Not even cloud on the horizon.
Just how much food and water will our wagon train have?
The city's cash cow, the Community Correctional Facility, isn't producing any milk, but the city still has to pay its bills to the tune of up to $89,000 a month of unemployment for the four dozen workers laid off in November.
It won't be getting the money owed by the Taft Community Development Agency, that's for dang sure.
Funding assumptions based on anything the state says are uncertain at best.
Also, the city is facing the loss of its biggest sales tax generator by the end of the fiscal year.
Clariant, Noerr said Wednesday, is moving to Bakersfield.
It's a done deal, he said.
So back to the wagon train.
Do you listen to city staff and head out into the desert assuming you've got all the food and water you'll need to need to make it to the greener pastures?
Or do you stop, take stock, see how much feed and water you really have, then decide?
Is it “Move 'em out,” or “Whoa there?”
Listening to Councilman Dave Noerr, the senior member of the city's finance committee, seeking realtime cash flow information from the city is kind of like watching a 19th century wagonmaster facing the prospect of leading a wagon train across a long expanse of the desert.
He wants to make sure he's got enough food and water for the people, their cattle and the horses.
Just like he and the rest of the council need to know how much money the city is going to have to operate and provide services.
But the information they need can sometimes be difficult, whether its water for the horses or cash to keep the city running.
So the good councilman, like a good wagonmaster, asks those who know how much there is.
City Manager Bob Gorson is right beside Noerr, telling him about the promised land that lies across the dester, how green and fertile the Great Central Valley in California is and how much gold there is in them thar hills.
Finance Director Teresa Binkley is at his other ear, telling Noerr they'll have plenty of food and water, because her records show they're supposed to get what's owed to them by Black Bart, Jesse James and the Dalton Gang.
But where is that food and water?
Binkley says its there, because accounting rules say its there.
But Noerr doesn't want to lead the wagon train out into the desert unless he's sure.
And he doesn't really expect Bart, Jessie and the Daltons to keep their word and provide the supplies they promised.
That's about where the city is right now.
There's a long dry spell ahead, and no rain in the forecast.
Not even cloud on the horizon.
Just how much food and water will our wagon train have?
The city's cash cow, the Community Correctional Facility, isn't producing any milk, but the city still has to pay its bills to the tune of up to $89,000 a month of unemployment for the four dozen workers laid off in November.
It won't be getting the money owed by the Taft Community Development Agency, that's for dang sure.
Funding assumptions based on anything the state says are uncertain at best.
Also, the city is facing the loss of its biggest sales tax generator by the end of the fiscal year.
Clariant, Noerr said Wednesday, is moving to Bakersfield.
It's a done deal, he said.
So back to the wagon train.
Do you listen to city staff and head out into the desert assuming you've got all the food and water you'll need to need to make it to the greener pastures?
Or do you stop, take stock, see how much feed and water you really have, then decide?
Is it “Move 'em out,” or “Whoa there?”
