Council Opts against Polling – Lays Out Parameters for Revenue Measures
While city staff had pushed for the council to commission a poll to study voter inclinations, council…
Commentary: Council Should Consider Not Polling on Revenue Measure
This column goes against my instincts both as a former political scientist and someone who has worked…
Guest Commentary: Boiling the Frog
by Michael Bisch (Editor’s note: The following ran in April 2014 and is re-published by request of…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Will Council Agree on a Tax Measure? Will the Voters Approve It?
When the city of Davis faced a $5 million a year structural deficit in 2014, the council…
Council to Consider Possible Tax Measures for 2018
The city’s current long range budget forecast shows an annual shortfall of $7.8 million in terms of…
Monday Morning Thoughts: The Actual Budget Is an Afterthought
The Davis City Council is expected to adopt the budget this week and, unlike in past years…
Commentary: Finally a Fully Transparent Budget
In 2008 during the Davis City Council elections, incumbent Councilmembers Don Saylor and Stephen Souza ran on…
No Rosy Budget Projections in the Current Model
After several years of rosy budget projections, the city, utilizing more robust modeling forecast projections, comes forward…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Will Transportation Bill Help Davis?
The big news was last week the Senate and Assembly passed SB 1, a $5.2 billion annual…
Analysis: Taking a Closer Look at the Roads, Parks, and Liabilities Assumptions in the Fiscal Model
The presentation by Bob Leland on Tuesday night revealed some sobering news on the state of the…
Aguiar-Curry Votes to Fund Crumbling State and Local Transportation Infrastructure
(From Press Release) – Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D – Winters) voted in support of SB 1 (Jim…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Looking at a Brief Recent History of Road Maintenance in Davis
There is a mix of views on whether the state will finally enact a transportation package which…
My View: Will the State Save Us on Roads?
For several years now the state has been looking to create a funds package to deal with…
Should We Be Spending One-Time Monies Prior to Resolving Budget Crisis?
Next week’s council meeting will see a number of budget discussions. Following on the wings of the…
Sunday Commentary: Better Late Than Never…
For some reason I hearken to the critical scene in the 1987 flick “Die Hard.” Terrorists have…
Sunday Commentary: Davis Needs to Wake Up If It Wants This Place to Remain Great
A growing view for solving Davis’ financial problems is to kick the can down the road and…
Sunday Commentary: Containing Costs Figures to Be a Huge Challenge
A week ago Mayor Robb Davis presented his cost containment plan. This is one I fully support….
Commentary: Getting Serious about the Budget Again
For several years, the most burning issue in Davis was getting the budget in order. Indeed, from…
Project Toto Presentation to the Vanguard
Last week, there was a brown bag lunch sponsored by the Davis Downtown, in which they invited…
Commentary: Laying the Groundwork for Fiscal Reform
On Wednesday, I attended a brown bag lunch sponsored by the Davis Downtown, in which they invited…
