As Mayor Jim Tovias explained in his state of the city address on Groundhog Day, Santa Paula hasn’t spent the past year hiding from a weak economy. Without a single layoff or salary reduction, the city has shaved $1 million from a $10 millon budget and reached zero deficit without tapping into reserves.

Fearing another money grab from Sacramento, it has created a utility district that will allow it to find its own sources of revenue for much-needed water, sewer and roads improvements. Santa Paula is remarkably well-capitalized and well-prepared for the future.  We wish all of the cities in the Tri-Counties could make the same claim.

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