A small mailer for the Yes on Measure O campaign promises voters “vital repairs to our roads, sidewalks and bike paths” and maintaining funding for public safety, parks and recreation.

According to the city’s own information — solicited, said in public and spread among its employees — the broader story is much more complicated, perhaps too complicated to explain in sound bites for a campaign.

The Yes on Measure O campaign, which is promoting the half-percent sales tax increase on the June 3 ballot, is not false per se — $2 million is already budgeted for roads in the 2014-15 fiscal year. But the money raised through the tax, an estimated $3.6 million per year, would be spent at the discretion of the City Council. Two seats on the five-member council are being contested in June.

The city faces a $4.99 million budget deficit, and is going to make $1.16 million in cuts to help balance the budget regardless of the Measure O results.

The measure before voters would raise Davis’ sales tax by one-half percent and extend an existing half-percent sales tax so that both would expire in 2020.

The money raised through the tax goes to the general fund, with no strings attached on how it would be spent. Whatever promises are being made now might have to be honored by potentially two new City Council members, should the three sitting council members not up for re-election disagree on something important.

But the city faces dire choices if Measure O does not pass. City staff have recommended two scenarios. One is an across-the-board 12.5-percent cut that would include cuts in police and fire services as well. The other would protect public safety and slash 25 percent across all other city departments.

In the 12.5-percent scenario, one cut of 16 possible reductions in the Police Department would reduce the ability for police to respond to low-level crimes like burglary, theft, stolen cars and bikes, plus noise complaints.

“The elimination of the two positions would result in the lack of dispatched response to most victims of property crime, who would then have to report their crime via online on mail-in reporting,” the recommendation details. “There would be no evidence collection or processing of crime scenes for property crimes  reported via online or mail-in formats.”

On the fire side, one of six proposed cuts would eliminate three firefighters, which “could result in closing fire stations during certain hours of the day or certain days of the week.” It also would potentially damage the city’s ability to respond to simultaneous calls for help, according to the budget analysis.

City staff provided the council with another option, a 25-percent cut in city services that preserves existing police and fire services. This, too, carries hard choices for the City Council.

Some of the cuts would be administrative tasks performed by people the public rarely sees, but their workload then would fall on fellow colleagues. For example, the budget specialist is recommended to be eliminated — an ironic turn for a city facing budget problems.

“In order for remaining budget staff to absorb the workload, support of the Finance and Budget Commission will be eliminated,” the proposed cut reads.

Recreation, arts, community coordination and conservation programs would be reduced or eliminated. Fewer opportunities for youth sports, senior citizen and teen programs would be available.

The city would be a lot less clean, too. For instance, with a 12.5-percent cut, a pool maintenance worker who is responsible for the upkeep of four city pool complexes would be laid off. The pools still will be cleaned according to “minimum requirements under state law” but vacuuming and general cleaning will get shorter shrift.

Parks would be far less maintained. In both recommendations, six employees who perform landscaping duties would be laid off. In addition to landscaping, there would be a slower response to irrigation repairs, cleaning bathrooms, trash pickup and public complaints.

In the 25-percent scenario, an additional five parks maintenance employees would be cut, with “significant decrease” in park maintenance and garbage collection. The reduction also would wipe out the ability for parks staff to help with citywide events.

 — Reach Dave Ryan at [email protected] or 530-747-8057. Follow him on Twitter at @davewritesnews

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