Commentary: Next City Manager Must Right City’s Fiscal Ship, Find Way Forward for Economic Development
Following yesterday’s column, the Vanguard received some important feedback on the fiscal state of the city. One…
Commentary: Thoughts on the Departure of Dirk Brazil and the Needs of the City Going Forward
The statement this week that City Manager Dirk Brazil had announced his retirement, effective January 8, 2018,…
City Looks to Tax Airbnb Rentals
Back in September 2015, the city council discussed the issue of short-term rentals via internet platforms, specifically…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Are Davis Residents Heeding the Warnings?
The Vanguard has spent ten years warning the community about the shortcomings of the budget. In a…
Council Gets Pushback on the Fire Contract
While the council unanimously approved the fire contract, there were two comments – one by Matt Williams…
Every Davis Citizen Should Read New Budget Forecast
By Dan Carson It won’t show up on the New York Times bestseller list. It is unlikely…
Guest Commentary: Boiling the Frog
by Michael Bisch (Editor’s note: The following ran in April 2014 and is re-published by request of…
Commentary: Where the Council Ends Up Going on Revenue Measures Not Clear
Watching the council discuss the potential revenue measures continues to feel a lot like déjà vu all…
Monday Morning Thoughts: The Actual Budget Is an Afterthought
The Davis City Council is expected to adopt the budget this week and, unlike in past years…
Revenues Improve but City’s Fiscal Situation Challenging Even Under Best Case Scenario
The biggest challenge that the city will face in the coming years is figuring how to on…
Analysis: What Would a City Revenue Measure Look Like?
In 2014, the Davis City Council acted to close an immediate $5 million hole in the budget…
Commentary: Finally a Fully Transparent Budget
In 2008 during the Davis City Council elections, incumbent Councilmembers Don Saylor and Stephen Souza ran on…
Analysis: Taking a Closer Look at the Roads, Parks, and Liabilities Assumptions in the Fiscal Model
The presentation by Bob Leland on Tuesday night revealed some sobering news on the state of the…
Five Questions with Mayor Robb Davis
This week the Vanguard sent out the same five questions to all five of the Davis City…
Consultant Lays Out Budget Model and Challenges Davis Faces
The city has retained local budget consultant Bob Leland, who, building on the work of citizen groups…
Should We Be Spending One-Time Monies Prior to Resolving Budget Crisis?
Next week’s council meeting will see a number of budget discussions. Following on the wings of the…
Sunday Commentary: Better Late Than Never…
For some reason I hearken to the critical scene in the 1987 flick “Die Hard.” Terrorists have…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Why an All-Cuts Approach Won’t Work for Davis
The fiscal news for the city continues to remain tenuous at best. This past week, some have…
Sunday Commentary: Davis Needs to Wake Up If It Wants This Place to Remain Great
A growing view for solving Davis’ financial problems is to kick the can down the road and…
Containing Employee Compensation Costs
Submitted Anonymously through YoloLeaks Recently several articles have been published in the Vanguard discussing the increasing costs…