Coachella Town Hall Meeting Spotlights City Budget Woes

More budget cuts could be on the way in the City of Coachella, if voters don’t pass a utility-users tax on next week’s ballot, according to city leaders.

The City Council held a town hall style meeting Wednesday night, focused on the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

“If it doesn’t pass, everything’s going to go down the drain,” said Sal Velasquez, a concerned citizen.

The city is facing a $2 million budget deficit and city officials made a final pitch to residents, and said that the passage of Measure-I, a 5-percent utility-users tax, would generate $1.4 million in revenue and could help balance the city budget.

“65-year olds and older would be exempt from it,” said Eduardo Garcia, the mayor of Coachella. “At the same time, this is a revenue that will grow in sync with the growth of the city.”

If the measure does pass, a citizen oversight committee would be created to ensure the money is spent on the intended services.

The vote is Tuesday, June 8.