Times Editorial: A cautionary tale of profligate spending in California
— by Jeffrey Wisniewski — 7 May 2009 — Comments Off
An editorial in the Contra Costa Times warns that cities “budgeting to spend every penny in the coffers is irresponsible and risky.”
Statewide, the population growth rate reached 1.8 percent annually at the start of the decade. But for four consecutive years now, it has hovered at 1.0 to 1.1 percent. Cities that had experienced monstrous population increases in past years — such as Brentwood, Hercules, Oakley, San Ramon and Dublin — saw growth slow to a trickle.
Meanwhile, more established cities like Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, Fremont, Hayward, Redwood City, San Mateo and Daly City have maintained very small, but relatively stable population growth.