With the deadline for presenting Stockton’s nearly $1 billion budget to the City Council and the public less than a week away, officials are working to fill five top positions in the city department that’s responsible for delivering the plan on time.
It’s unlikely they can fill the positions, housed in the Administrative Services Department, by the May 15 deadline. The city has even hired contractors to cover some of the work.
Invisible to most Stocktonians, the department is involved in virtually every aspect of the city’s financial operations — collecting taxes, accounting for all money flowing in and out of city accounts, managing Stockton’s debt and, most importantly, producing the high-stakes annual budget…