Finances | Contra Costa Herald

County Supervisors eye $3 billion budget

April 19, 2017 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Uncertainty as it relies on 48% of funds from federal government

By Daniel Borsuk

Contra Costa County supervisors took a peek at a proposed $3 billion budget on Tuesday that includes $250,000 to expand a popular health care program for low income citizens, $220,000 to reopen the shuttered Knightsen fire station in the East Contra Costa Fire District, and spend $500,000 for the Northern Waterfront Study Intiative.

Supervisors are scheduled to adopt the new spending plan at its May 9 meeting to replace the current $2.6 billion budget.

During the seven-hour hearing, some supervisors seemed to play the conservative card due to fiscal events that have developed in Washington, D.C. and how federal cuts in health care, education and housing might have a ripple effect at the state and county level.

County Administrator David Twa said the county receives 48 percent of its funds from the federal government so there is concern that funding cuts from Washington will impact county operations if not in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, it could occur in the 2018-2019 fiscal year when the county needs to renegotiate labor contracts with doctors, nurses. and fire fighters.

“This is one of the most difficult budgets to assemble,” Twa told supervisors, “because there is so much uncertainty at the state and federal levels.”

The fiscal uncertainty also affected the supervisors.

Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill said she would not approve the proposal for an additional $250,000 to expand the Contra Costa Cares health care program for low income residents. The county allotment would be matched by the nonprofit organization to help access the health care program to 1,000 residents. This current fiscal year the county spent $1 million and has proposed $1.25 million for the upcoming 2017-2018 fiscal year.

“There’s a large part of the community that doesn’t understand why we see a part of the undocumented community the way we do, but in this case, I cannot support spending an extra $250,000 for the Contra Costa Cares program,” Mitchoff said.

Mitchoff also raised doubts that Contra Costa Cares has the fundraising capabilities to collect $250,000 to expand the program. “The hospital is not committed to contributing the $250,000,” she said.

“We’re seeing the rise of people awareness to their right to health care,” said Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood. She favors the extra funding for the health care program that drew about eight speakers in support of the health care program. “I’m in support of expanding it,” she said.

Initially supervisors were reluctant in setting aside $220,000 to reopen the Knightsen fire station for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, but eventually caved in to reality that the station needed to opened. Supervisors are frustrated over the way the ECCFD has managed its financial and business affairs. The fire district had shuttered the fire station in order to open a new station in Brentwood..

Supervisors also voted 4-0, with Supervisor Candace Andersen absent, to designate $500,000 for the Northern Water Front Study Initiative, a project of Board Chair Federal Glover. The funding would be spent on data development, parcel identification, engineering, and public outreach.

New Airport Safety Classifications Approved

Supervisors also approved the creation for four Airport Safety Office Classifications at the Byron Airport and Buchanan Field to replace three outdated classifications that should help the county improve the retention rate among safety personnel. The county has a 60 percent retention rate among 17 personnel assigned to aircraft rescue and firefighting duties.

Running Your Money: Are bank account opening bonuses for real?

January 4, 2017 By Publisher 2 Comments

By Harry Stoll

Are bank account opening bonuses for real?

Yes, but you will pass many dark dank alleys in a dicey neighborhood, so take care. Banks often have a third party do the pitch, such as Hustler Money, Money Crashers, and Nerd Wallet. They are very up- front about being paid by the banks. In many of them Chase is mentioned first. Being paid by the banks doesn’t make the offer phony. Often there is promotional code you must use. You can open the account online.

Two bits of advice: Always, always, print a copy of the offer and keep it at least until you have collected the money. And, always, RTFP (definition available in the Suburban Dictionary). I ignored my good advice in a recent deal with Wings Financial Credit Union; I read the fine print but didn’t print out a copy. When it came time to collect the puny $50 gift card, customer “service” said, “Ah, ah, ah, you have to agree to accepting paperless statements to earn the gift card.” I didn’t remember that but I was stuck.

Chase often puts pitches in that envelope of coupons including sewer repair and ridding your abode of rodents. I have taken several Chase offers. I like to open the account at a nearby branch. They always recognize me even though I enter the bank only to open an account; otherwise I go to the money wall.

I recently opened a Chase Business Account, depositing $1,500. The rep won’t be fussy about your business, E just wants to close the deal and rack up brownie points. Chase will deposit $300 to the account about 70 days after opening, when It will be available to withdraw. You must maintain a $1,000 minimum balance. To avoid a monthly fee keep at least $1,500 in the account That’s an annual percentage yield 40%. The fine print says if you close the account before 12 months, it will deduct the bonus. Well, nyah, nyah, nyah, what if I take the money and run before I close it? But they might not recognize me when I come in next year with the offer. It’s like guys on Hogs in black leather jackets with an eagle on the back; I don’t wish to incur their displeasure.

For an HSBC Bank: bonus of $350, initially deposit at least $25 dollars, pay two bills a month through them for three months and collect $350. No minimum payment is stated; I deposited $25 and for two months made two payments of $4. Account opening was arduous, I danced to their tune online and it took three weeks to open. They asked questions indicating they were seeking affluent depositors, but I have the account.

BMO Harris offered a $200 bonus and Tech CU a $150 bonus for opening an account and making a direct deposit of a paycheck or government check, such as Social Security. Residents of Northern California are eligible for membership in both institutions.

These offers appear and poof, all gone, but new offers will appear.

Save money by slaying the energy vampires in your home, this Halloween

October 19, 2016 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Ghouls and goblins aren’t the only thing California residents have to worry about this Halloween. There’s another threat lurking in nearly every household: you can’t see or feel it, but it drains your hard-earned cash without you even realizing. This threat is the “energy vampire” – and it accounts for nearly 10% of all energy use in California homes.

“Energy vampires” (or standby power) is a term used for any electronic we leave plugged in that slowly sucks energy from our homes. These can be video game consoles, phone chargers, guitar amps, laptops, printers and more. What’s worse, the average U.S. household spends about $130 per year to power devices while they appear to be off.

So how can households reclaim some of these costs? Here are a few tricks and tips:

Unplug your devices.Perhaps the most obvious thing you can do to battle energy vampires is to unplug devices when they are not in use. Make it a habit to unplug your charger when your phone is fully charged, or your video game console, when you’ve finished playing. These small, simple behavior changes add up in energy savings – and in dollars and cents.
Enable ENERGY STAR power management settings. ENERGY STAR qualified computers and monitors offer a variety of power settings to help you monitor your energy use. By enabling these settings, you can have your devices go into power save mode when they are not actively in use.
Use Advanced Power Strips (APS). Replacing your conventional power strips with advanced power strips can help reduce electricity waste when devices are idle – without your having to change the way you normally use your electronics. Advanced Power Strips work by preventing electronics from drawing power when they are off or not being used.