Don't bet on a quick turnaround

Fitting that at last night's City Council meeting, Finance Director Zane Johnston told councilmembers that the need to trim employee costs was pressing, even though the Measure E sales tax increase doesn't expire for four more years.

We haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel, he said.

Truly, he spoke.

A UCLA study, this report says, envisions San Joaquin County lingering in the economic doldrums until at least 2017. It's consistent with what the University of Pacific Economic Forecasting Center has said in its quarterly reports for nigh on a year: The state's coastal and more urban areas are starting to show signs of life, but the Central Valley will continue to lag behind.

That means cities like Tracy, which have a budget to balance, would do well to get into the black sooner rather than later.