Citizens File Petition After Activities Budget Cut

At last weeks county commission meeting in Eureka, a petition was filed by Crescent Valley residents to restore the towns activities budget after it was cut 52 percent for the 2014-15 fiscal year.

During public comment, John McClure of Crescent Valley read a petition into the record which in two days had gathered 84 signatures in Crescent Valley regarding the Crescent Valley Activities Program.

The petition states, “The Crescent Valley Activities budget was cut by 52 percent ($17,600) this last budget session without the program being made aware or allowing our community a chance to make comment. All events provided by the Activities Program are in danger of being cancelled due to no funding from Eureka County. The fight for the funding to be returned to our community will continue, however, they need your support.” The petition says, “Taking over half of this funding was not fair to our community or the program. We as a community should continue to have these events and should not allow more and more to be taken away from Crescent Valley.”

Concerned residents spoke up to the commissioners explaining to them how this would affect the community in a negative way.
“That’s all we have here is the community and activities,” said Mary Garcia.

When the agenda item related to the fiscal year 2014-2015 budget for the Crescent Valley Activities Program, Director Adell Panning said, “Before I go too far into it there was a petition that was taken around. You heard the public comments.” Panning asked “to table this until you guys are up here for your Quarterly meeting” since this “is an issue that effects the entire town and I don’t want to put this just on my shoulders or just on you guys. You need to hear what they want and what they think about what’s going on so I’ll kind of leave it at that and see what direction you guys want to go.”

Commissioner Sharkozy asked if it could be tabled.

Chairman Goicoechea said, “So everybody’s aware. We’re not cutting anything right now. This was a budget process done in the open meeting and done all through last spring.”

Goicoechea noted the budget was released in May and finalized in June and took effect. On Sept. 19.

Goicoechea said positions are being cut across the board. A member of the public commented, “But your programs aren’t going away.

The Chairman said the programs down here (Eureka) are predominantly civic group driven. The fire department, the Lion’s Club. You don’t see a lot of Commissioner-funded activities down here.

The issue was tabled until the January joint Commission/Advisory Board meeting.