The Yucca Valley Town Council held a budget workshop and a special meeting yesterday. Managing Editor Tami Roleff attended both and will first report on the budget meeting, later in this newscast, the special meeting…
About three dozen residents went to a budget workshop for the Town of Yucca Valley Thursday afternoon. Over one and a half hours, Town staff answered questions from the audience about how much various projects cost, and how much it was going to cost the Town to maintain the new projects and parks. Administrative director Curtis Yakimow tried to reassure residents. “Almost all capital projects are NOT funded out of the general fund.” Instead the Town uses grants and funds from other sources to build parks, the senior housing project, and the traffic light at Dumosa and the highway. Several residents also made it clear that the Hi-Desert Nature Museum was a popular destination and questioned its future. To which Town staff responded that the Town could not maintain the same level of service with fewer employees.” Yakimow stressed the Town Council has made it clear that the Yucca Valley will never have a budget dependent on reserves. The budget workshop was followed by a special Town Council meeting in which the council gave direction to staff about budget priorities.
