Sometimes dis-incorporation makes as much sense as incorporation does.
Editorial: S.O.S. for Isleton
Notolli sees the need, offers a plan to help
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, August 16, 2007
The tiny Sacramento County hamlet of Isleton, population 840, has been in disarray for years and could use a hand.
The mayor's office has had a revolving door. The problematic Police Department lost its state accreditation two years ago. And, lately, the city has been facing a budget crisis.
Bruce Pope, a city manager hired late last year, reported several months ago that he could find no records for city revenues collected or spent for the past two years.
When he finally was able to pull together some information, he calculated that the city has been operating with a sizable deficit for the past two years. City debt is estimated at $600,000, a hefty amount considering Isleton has an operating budget of only about $1.4 million a year. Among other things, Pope says the city owes a private company $156,000 for garbage pickup.
Interest on the debt is accruing at a rate of 15 percent annually. Pope has questions about whether another $200,000 may have been diverted improperly from the city's redevelopment account. The Sacramento County grand jury has launched a probe into the city's management problems.
Isleton leaders ultimately might want to consider dissolving the city and reverting to county control.
