In the second part of her report on last night’s Yucca Valley Town Council’s activities, managing editor Tami Roleff focuses on the Council’s special meeting…
After the Yucca Valley budget workshop held Thursday afternoon, the Yucca Valley Town Council held a special meeting to discuss the draft budget. Several residents questioned various expenses, from a new traffic signal at Dumosa and the highway, to why the Town was paying for a school resource officer for the schools. Council Member Bob Leone’s motion to delay paying $76,000 for the design of a traffic signal until the San Bernardino Association of Governments approved a grant for it, failed for lack of a second, and the Council awarded the design contract, 4 to 1. The council also discussed the possibility of going after a “bed tax” on motels, but decided against it for two reasons. At most it would only bring in $150,000 a year, and that voters would be unlikely to approve two tax measures on the same ballot. And then the Council decided against budgeting money in case a special election was held in the next fiscal year. Town Manager Mark Nuaimi cautioned council members that the Town’s finances were still precarious, “this is not a surplus budget, even though revenues exceed expenditures.” Council members could not agree on where to put surplus funds in the budget, with Dawn Rowe and Robert Lombardo giving infrastructure, George Huntington and Merl Abel, reserves, and Bob Leone saying it should be directed toward things the Town is in danger of losing. This item will be revisited at its next meeting May 28.
