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Reps address budget crisis and concerns
By Susan Hogoboom
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — Members of the public were
invited to “An Evening With Elected Officials,” last Wednesday,
Oct. 21 at the Viejas Dreamcatcher Lounge. The event was
organized by the Alpine & Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce in
partnership with Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Herb Cawthorne,
a community relations consultant for Viejas Enterprises
moderated the evening’s event.
Elected officials gave brief updates on current issues
related to their offices, after which, members of the public
were invited to ask questions.
California State Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-CA 77th
District) was recently voted Legislator of the Year for his
efforts in public safety. Anderson acknowledged crises in the
budget, water, and education.
“All I can say is we deserve better. We should be
working harder. We need to get people working again. The best
way do to it is to streamline government and get them off the
backs of the working Californians,” he said.
Alpine Union School District Board President Mark Price
introduced the attendees to the board’s newest member,
Christopher Newcomb, who joined the group in July.
Price proudly boasted AUSD’s STAR Test results, which
are up for the sixth year in a row. AUSD is now ranked the best
school district in all of East County with regards to the test
results. He credited teachers, students, and parental
involvement.
Price also said that AUSD was one of 43 districts in
the state to be awarded a Qualified School Construction Bond,
which will be used for upgrades in infrastructure and to improve
energy efficiency, such as the installation of solar panels.
Price admitted that, like all district, AUSD is
suffering from low enrollment, which affects funding, occurring
on a per student basis.
“We’re suffering in this district, as all districts are
up and down the state, with a horrible economy,” Price said.
San Diego County Board of Education Board Member John
Witt is one of five county school board members. Witt oversees
the San Diego Unified School District. The board makes sure all
county public school districts are solvent and attempts to keep
them on steady ground financially.
Sharon Jones, who oversees the third district, which
includes much of rural East County and Mark C. Anderson, who
oversees the Grossmont Union High School District were not on
the panel last week, but Witt urged the public to contact board
members with questions or concerns about their local districts.
San Diego County Treasurer/Tax Collector, Dan
McAllister, said his office sent out 978,000 property tax bills
within the last few weeks, what he called, “a new, all-time
record for the County of San Diego.”
He said revenue is down this year. However, it is
projected that the tax collector will collect about $50 million
less than last year. However, despite the economy’s downturn,
defaults on property tax have dropped by 1 percent from last
year and the county continues to hold a AAA rating for the 10th
consecutive year.
McAllister referred to property taxes as “a necessary
evil to bringing in those dollars that we need so badly to make
sure the programs continue to happen that people depend on.”
Alpine Fire Protection District (AFPD) President, Jim
Easterling, who also serves on the Alpine Planning Group (APG),
said that the AFPD has a $3.5 million budget, which has just
been reviewed and balanced for the year. The budget was balanced
despite decreased property tax revenue, resulting in the
district’s receipt of 2 percent less in funding because of
devalued property and the fact that the state receives 8 percent
of the property tax revenues from the entire county.
One administrative position had to be abolished to
accomplish the balanced budget; however, the Alpine Fire
Department maintains full staffing, while other departments are
shutting down stations and equipment and laying off employees.
“I think it’s a credit to Alpine that we are
maintaining full staffing and moving ahead,” Easterling said.
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing
Board President, Bill Garrett, boasted increase enrollment at
the two east county colleges by 3,500 people over the last three
years, despite decreased state funding to the district by $10
million.
Garrett praised Grossmont College’s nationally renowned
nursing program and programs that prepare students for jobs that
foster environmental protection and preservation, otherwise
known as “green jobs.” He also boasted Cuyamaca College’s water
conservation garden, which contains samples of drought tolerant
and fire resistant landscaping.
“We have been doing as everybody has, trying to figure
out exactly how we can handle the budget situation,” he said
regarding the 10 percent decrease in state funding.
Grossmont Healthcare District Board President, James
Stieringer, overviewed improvements that will and have taken
place in the Grossmont Community Health Care District, thanks to
Proposition G, a $247 million bond that was approved in 2006.
This district covers roughly 750 square miles of Eastern San
Diego County.
At Sharp Grossmont Hospital, a 90-bed expansion has been
completed: 24 intensive care beds and 66 medical surgical beds
have been added. The East tower, build in 1974 will undergo
upgrades in electricity, plumbing and elevators and will be
completed in 2012, as well. In 2013, expect to see a large
diagnostic treatment center, which will house a new pharmacy,
clinical labs, catheter labs, general surgery, minimally evasive
surgery, and image-guided surgery.
APG Vice Chairman, Brad Bailey, represented APG
Chairman, Dana Zeno, who had a prior engagement. Bailey reminded
the public of plans in the works for a future pocket park on the
Albertsons site.
He stressed that the group is simply an advisory group
that serves at the mercy of the Board of Supervisors. “I can’t
tell you that the supervisor’s always listen to us, but we do
advise them,” he said.
Padre Dam Municipal Water District Director, August
Caires, addressed the growing water issues. There is a mandatory
cutback of 8 percent this year, although the predicted cutbacks
were originally 20-30 percent. He said Padre Dam customers have
cut back by 13.5 percent during the first three months of the
fiscal year.
Caires outlined two projects: A long-awaited $17
billion project, which includes a secondary pipeline that leads
to Alpine, which is now under construction, as well as $15
million will be spent to refurbish and enlarge five of the
Alpine tank reservoirs for the purposes of water quality and
fire safety, however, the project is not scheduled to be
completed for another four or five years.
He warned that next year the area might face a 20-30
percent cutback in water supplies. This will depend upon snow
pack, rainfall, and whether or not there will be pumping
restrictions to protect endangered fish species, which has
resulted in a decrease of water pumped. “There are a lot of
circumstances that can impact that but we’re cautiously
optimistic,” he told attendees.
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