By: Mark Sorensen
In what will be of little to no surprise to people who have been closely watching City of Chico finances for the past few years, the news is out that the City has been burning through cash the past several years.
Not little bits of cash, but big piles …

The CalPERS pension system reported that it made a whopping 1% return on investments in the past fiscal year. Far below its previous operating assumption of 7.75%, or its new 2012 operating assumption of 7.5%.
An example of where assumptions are clearly disconnected from reality.

See the full story in …

It is difficult to believe that even in the current economic downturn where our economy is starving for investments into buildings and infrastructure that there is a currently active effort to tax that kind of investment to fund local art projects. This “building tax” effort has existed at various levels …

In a year where the City of Chico has financially struggled, taken gas-tax money from road maintenance and improvements, eaten half ($1 Million) of its general liability reserve, paid for early retirements, reduced police staffing levels*, reduced fire-rescue staffing levels*, closed a fire station*, proposes to cut library funding by …

Sport Jet had been seriously looking at possibly locating their manufacture of VLJ (Very Light Jet) aircraft to Chico. With the unfortunate departure of Aero Union from Chico Municipal Airport, Chico has some underutilized, fairly modern, medium sized hanger and office space on the flight line of a decent sized airport, …

In their March 1 Letter to the Editor, Abe Baily and Jim Gregg take issue with describing CalPERS pensions by the title of a Feb 16 Chico ER Editorial “Public pensions a taxpayer liability,” and make interesting generalizations about past CalPERS  premiums, earnings and contribution rates. CalPERS pension administrators, among other …

In addition to last year’s Chico Sewer Users tax increase 

From PublicCEO.com

Pension
Earnings Dip Amid Gloomy Forecasts

Local Governments – Exclusive — 31
January 2012

The nation’s two largest public pension funds last week reported slim annual
investment earnings, CalPERS 1.1 percent and CalSTRS 2.3 percent, as experts
continue to say hitting their long-term earnings target, 7.75 percent, will be
difficult.
While CalPERS reported weak earnings in …

Image Above: A collection of Franklin’s. One Million Dollars Worth

    There is no question that the City of Chico has taken many steps to work within the revenue constraints imposed in recent years. But in the past 4 years the City has also cut its cash reserves in half, …