Sonoma’s balancing its municipal checkbook – and this year it’s playing with a cool $31 million and change.
That’s the city’s proposed operating budget – $31,605,859 for those keeping track at home – which the Sonoma City Council approved at its June 22 meeting in a 4-0 vote, with council member Gary Edwards not in attendance.
The total budget is up 7.5 percent over last year, an increase that reflects what city staff says is a healthy financial situation – “bordering between good and excellent,” according to City Manager Carol Giovanatto.
The city’s relative economic comfort is fueled largely by tourism, Giovanatto said – meaning out of towners are eating, drinking and vacationing Sonoma onto solid financial ground.
“(Sonoma has seen) 15 to 20 percent increases in tourist-related taxes over the past three years,” Giovanatto said.
Taxes through sales or tourism account for roughly 65 percent of the $16 million in the general fund, and is the number one source of revenue for the city.
However, cautioned Giovanatto, “tourism tax is leveling off, as hotels reach 85 to 90 percent occupancy.”
The 7.5 percent bump to the budget will largely go toward capital projects, she said.
While the budget outlook was indeed sunny, some held out higher hopes for additional joy from the city coffers. The city’s tetrad of so-called “Tier 1” nonprofits – independent organizations which provide traditional recreation services in the P&R-less town and some of which have received portions of the city budget pie since the late ‘80s – had lobbied for a 25 percent increase in funds. But of the four Tier 1’s – the Sonoma Community Center, the Sonoma Ecology Center, the Boys & Girls Clubs Sonoma Valley and Vintage House senior center – only the Community Center was allotted the full 25 percent increase. The others were bumped by a more modest 2.5 percent.
The Sonoma Community Center will use the funds to help balance the books on the annual Fourth of July Parade and City Party, which last year fell $57,000 off the mark.
Cynthia Scarborough, director of Vintage House, spoke at this week’s meeting, asking the council to reconsider loosening its purse strings further for the other three Tier 1 nonprofits.
Scarborough said she was grateful for the city’s long-term support for Vintage House, but disappointed in this year’s rate of increase which, she pointed out, finds the senior center receiving $3,000 less than it did at its pre-recession peak in 2007-08.
“It wouldn’t have been much of a stretch (to increase funding by 25 percent), to bring us to where we were in the past,” Scarborough said.
While the tradition of the City funding local nonprofits and charitable organizations dates back decades, the official “tier” system was adopted in the mid 2000’s to expedite funding toward the SCC, Vintage House, Boys & Girls Clubs and the Ecology Center; “Tier 2” provided community grants to other nonprofits to be decided on a year-to-year basis.
The city’s Tier 2 funding was budgeted at $100,000 in 2007, but was suspended in 2008 when the recession hit, and has not reappeared in a city budget since.
In 2014-15, the Tier 1 funding was as follows: Boys & Girls Clubs, $69,600; Sonoma Community Center, $31,680; Vintage House, $36,000; Sonoma Ecology Center, $26,400.
The 2015-16 Tier 1 funds – about $188,000 – is a smidgeon over 1 percent of the total general fund revenue of $16,826,752.
‘It wouldn’t have been much of a stretch (to increase funding by 25 percent), to bring us to where we were in the past.’
- Vintage House director ?Cynthia Scarborough
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