MODESTO BEE
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Last Updated: April 11, 2006, 07:11:23 AM PDT

When I served on the Modesto City Council, we faced declining tax revenue. To prepare for the worst, then-City Manager Jack Crist enacted a series of cost-cutting measures that generated $5 million in savings from a $200 million budget in about one year. He eliminated unneeded expenses, deferred purchases and strategically postponed hiring replacements.
Stanislaus County has a $750 million annual budget. Using management techniques similar to those employed by Mr. Crist, we should find $15 million to $20 million without harming existing programs. Savings would be plowed into the Health Service Agency to protect public health.

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