Eureka voters will decide in November whether to extend an existing local sales tax at an increased rate to bolster the city’s cash-strapped coffers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. If passed, the yet-to-be-named measure will increase the transaction tax to 1.25 percent — up from the current 0.5 percent originally approved by voters in […]
deficit
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Schools Face Prospect of Layoffs, Furloughs as State Budget Gets Slashed
California’s public schools, physically closed since mid-March and strapped for cash, are coming out of a frying pan and into a financial fire. The fire comes in the form of a $6.5 billion cut to schools’ main source of funding as well as other reductions in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget that, if enacted, would mean […]
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What Next for California Cities? Deficits, Bailouts and Long Recoveries
Cities have been ground zero in California’s coronavirus response — with many initiating shelter-in-place orders, organizing emergency housing for homeless people and supporting health and essential workers. But even before restrictions get lifted, mayors, managers and city councils are being tested in a new way: pandemic-induced budget deficits. Already, unemployment is projected to be higher than […]
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HSU Faces $20 Million Deficit; CR’s Situation Dire, Too
A joint press release this afternoon sounds the alarm bells that both it and Humboldt State University face “immense budget” deficits at least exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Difficult decisions apparently lie ahead, including staff reductions. According to the press release, HSU was already facing deficit of more than $5 million due to already declining […]
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Seeking Students
Being offered a Humboldt First Scholarship is an experience in and of itself. Humboldt State University Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether, President Tom Jackson Jr. and Lucky the Logger, HSU’s mascot, visit local high schools and offer seniors a $4,000 scholarship in an event carefully tailored to feel like a graduation ceremony. After […]
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Slush Fund or Healthy Reserves?
Both the California State University system and Humboldt State University have sharply disputed a June 20 report from the California State Auditor’s Office, which charged that the CSU system is sitting on an undisclosed $1.5 billion budget surplus, which included more than $62 million from HSU. The bombshell report and subsequent pushback have left lawmakers […]
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Supes to Consider Law Enforcement Raises, Cannabis Consultant Contracts Tomorrow
UPDATE: In a 3-0 vote, with Supervisors Virginia Bass and Rex Bohn absent, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors passed both agenda items. PREVIOUSLY The Humboldt County supervisors are set to consider approving raises tomorrow for the county’s sheriff’s deputies, district attorney investigators and probation officers that would bump their pay 5 percent over the […]
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County Simultaneously Releases Budget App, Grim Budget Forecast
The county of Humboldt launched an interactive online budget application Friday aimed at helping residents better understand their government, just as county staff released a fairly gloomy five-year budget forecast. “Open Budget,” the new interactive tool that can be found here, is designed to let folks explore different facets of county spending and revenue collection, […]
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State Water Restrictions May Dry Eureka’s Budget
Eureka’s tough budget year may go from bad to worse. News broke this past week that — despite voters’ approving a sales tax extension in November that’s supposed to keep more $4 million coming into city coffers annually — the city is looking to erase a $2.3 million deficit, which equates to about 10 percent […]
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County projecting large budget deficit
It looks like the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will have some tough decisions to make in the coming months. The board is slated to receive its mid-year budget update Tuesday, and the news is pretty grim. According to the staff report, County Administrative Officer Phillip Smith-Hanes is expected to tell the board that the […]