Salinas cuts pit library against paramedics

Posted by Gordon on January 5, 2010 at 10:37am

Salinas' Measure V panel rejects city's proposed cuts to save emergency response services
By MIKE HORNICK • mhornick@thecalifornian.com • January 5, 2010


Which is worse: for Salinas libraries to cut back from a seven-day to a six-day schedule, or for the city to eliminate its paramedic program and rely on the county for emergency medical response?

By a 3-2 vote Monday, the Measure V Oversight Committee opted for the libraries over the paramedic program, rejecting a city staff recommendation. The vote is not binding on the city, which is consulting its departments and committees on budget-cutting plans it's making to head off an expected $9 million-plus shortfall. March 1 is the target date to begin implementing cuts.

As they met to grapple with what chairwoman Lauren Cercone called "a Sophie's choice," committee members and city officials compared the worth of services that normally aren't compared.

Salinas Fire Chief Kim Raddatz said emergency medical response times would rise from six minutes to 10 minutes if the city disbanded the program in favor of county paramedic service. "For heart attacks and trauma victims, at 10 minutes you're starting to enter that critical stage where treatment becomes mandatory," he said.

City Finance Director Tom Kever said a 10 percent, $412,400 cut to the library's budget would help offset the $522,500 cost of the paramedic program. "It's critical that every department participate in the reductions," City Manager Artie Fields said.

But the committee's majority saw library cuts as a risky proposition.

"I can't argue against the paramedic program, but on balance libraries for the future of Salinas are more important to me," said committee member Jack Briscoe. "I think our gang problem gets worse [with service reductions at libraries and recreation centers]."

"It pains me," Cercone said. "Is there going to be divine retribution and suddenly I have a heart attack tomorrow and need the paramedics? But there still will be paramedic services through the county. It's not going away. If we eliminate the library, it goes away. There's no safety net."

It was only the second time since its formation in 2006 that the committee rejected a staff recommendation. Cercone, Briscoe and James Washington voted for the majority. Al Espindola and Brandon Hill dissented.


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Measure K was not just a 1-cent increase, you have to look at the whole pie and what that represents to the citizens of Salinas on top of the taxes we are already paying, I believe the amount was something like 20 million for “K” into perpetuity. This money, although talked up as being largely for enforcement was a “general fund tax.” For the first two-three years that is what it would show being paid out, but in time, after peoples memories have faded and with an influx of new people to the area, then all other departments would begin cutting their slice of the pie and another tax increase would be necessary in one form or another.

Because the city didn’t get its way there will be calculated, retaliatory measures taken to prove to the electorate how wrong and shortsighted they were:

Response time from police and other city agencies will increase.
There will be an increase in crime reports.
There will be reports of businesses closing and/or not wanting to come to Salinas.
There will be reports of an increase in the deficit, or deficit spiraling out of control.
There will be threats of City offices closing down
There will be reports of diminished resources.
There will be reports of an increase in downtime.

These reports will increase, reaching a crescendo in 2010. Don't be surprised to see a duplicate measure of the same or greater amount placed on the ballot and because of the background measures taken to prod the electorate, this time the measure may pass. Practical, conservative ideas are seldom visited in government operations.

Measure V, places $11 million annually in the city's coffers for ten years, and was embraced by local voters November 8, 2005. We have five more years of this lie perpetrated upon the taxpayers.

I’m afraid we have only gained a reprieve, politics is like playing chess, the citizens always being the loser.

I made this warning months ago and it is coming to pass.