Council Cuts Nearly $17,000 From Budget

The Suisun City Council eliminated its Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce membership as well as several other fee-based memberships this week in a bid to cut down on  $16,906 in staff costs.

Suisun City, like many cities, pays dues to a host of informational, civic, and trade organizations like the Fairfield chamber and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. In all, it was scheduled to pay $78,400 for the whole of fiscal year 2010.

Many of the memberships the council kept are contractual obligations in various staff contracts. Others are essential for police training updates and fire and building code information.

Here’s a list of the memberships Mayor Pete Sanchez and Councilmembers Jane Day and Mike Hudson voted to have cancelled, with the cost in parenthesis:

-       Association of California Water Agencies ($9,120)

-       International Council of Shopping Centers ($150)

-       Urban land Institute ($250)

-       Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials ($50)

-       American Public Works Association ($151)

-       California City Manager Foundation ($400)

-       Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce ($1,000)

-       Responsible Hospitality Membership ($120)

-       One of two memberships in the California Parks & Recreation Society ($155)

-       Sister Cities International ($510)

-       Solano Economic Development Corporation ($5,000)