DISCOURSE
for a parks and recreation program or swimming at the ( Steve Miklos ) Aquatic Center . … Early on , I had to turn off the spigot on literally so many programs , and that means critical revenues just disappeared . Now , thankfully , we ’ ve been able to bring some things back . But , of course , nothing looks the same right now . So , yes , we brought back some recreation classes , and we ’ ve opened our aquatic center again , and we ’ re slowly bringing some of that money back . But we can ’ t have ( as ) many people in the classes … that impacts revenue .
The third source is sales tax revenue . People are purchasing … but they ’ re doing it in a very different way . … People are tending to go into stores with a single-minded purpose , especially in the early days of the pandemic , and they ’ re just getting the things they need , and they ’ re exiting as opposed to the more leisurely wandering around the store that results in some nice impulse buying that helps out businesses .
There ’ s also been a big shift to online purchasing . Although the city does get a piece of that depending on some pretty complex formulas , it can impact us adversely . So , yes , we have seen a decrease in our sales tax . What that means is … I had to tell ( the department heads who oversee ) half of our temporary workforce — folks that just have temporary jobs ( who ) pick up hours here and there — we can ’ t have that right now . It means I am pushing off major capital purchases , like vehicles . … I was offered and turned down a salary increase . I did not offer salary increases to any of my department heads this year . … We ’ re in a very careful mode right now , and we ’ re definitely in a wait-and-see mode .
How has the pandemic accelerated or hampered efforts to attract new business and industry ? The pandemic is opening up our opportunities , particularly with companies who are telling employees , “ You can live wherever you want to live .” … ( In terms of development ) south of ( Highway ) 50 , there are some really interesting and exciting things happening over there , including Dignity Health has just announced they ’ re going to start on first a medical office building and , in the future , a hospital on a 28-acre site , and that will have a huge economic multiplier effect in terms of the jobs it brings in and people ( who ) want to live here and be close to that , and how up and down the corridor people will be in full support because they will be accessing great health resources .
Major development is happening south of Highway 50 . Can you give me an overview of what ’ s going on now ? This is decades and decades and decades of leaders working together in a wise fashion to make this happen . … Folsom Ranch is how we refer to most of ( the development ), and it ’ s part of a 3,500-acre Folsom Plan Area south of 50
SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Sacramentan of the Year Susan Peters , Sacramento County Supervisor , Third District
Businesswoman of the Year Cate Dyer , StemExpress , LLC
Businessman of the Year Randall Sater , Stonebridge Properties
Al Geiger Memorial Award Faith Whitmore , Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center
Small Business of the Year Savory Café
Business Hall of Fame Award El Dorado Savings Bank
Metro EDGE Young Professional of the Year Dr . Lenora Lee , M . D ., Kaiser Permanente
FEBRUARY 5 , 2021 Purchase Your Ticket Today ! Visit metrochamber . org / events / annual-dinner
30 comstocksmag . com | January 2021