Friday, July 31, 2009
August Council meeting
The City Council meeting scheduled for the first Wednesday in August has been cancelled for a summer break. The next regular City Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 19th at 6 pm.
Monday, July 27, 2009
National Night Out - Aug. 4th
Please click to read the press release regarding a night to heighten awareness for community safety.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Budget piece
Here is something I wrote and submitted to the local paper today:
And we continue to wait
Along with numerous State agencies and departments, California’s 480 cities remain in a wait and see mode regarding the adoption of the State of California’s budget. The latest plan rumored from the closed door budget meetings is that the State will be taking away a greater share of city redevelopment funds than previously anticipated, is seriously considering borrowing local property taxes, and will be taking the local share of gas taxes.
Our own City Council/Community Development Agency Board held two budget workshops in June. Based on the issues facing the City and Agency with respect to reliable revenue forecasts being hampered by a delay in the County Auditor’s property tax estimates, and the State budget situation that is still unsettled, our City Council elected the prudent course of adopting a continuing budget resolution to authorize routine expenditures in lieu of an adopted and authorized City and CDA budgets for Fiscal Year 2009-10. This move was unprecedented in the recently history of the City and reflects the extreme uncertainty that continues to exist regarding potential State takings of local tax dollars to balance the State budget.
We continue to wait, watch, and lobby for outcomes that will not devastate our local communities. Cities are mandated to provide for local police and fire protection, building safety, land use and street maintenance for our own communities, yet we cannot plan budgets for these services if the State’s financial unpredictability continues from year to year without a systemic change to address the ongoing revenue and expenditure imbalance.
Our City Council and our community has many projects in the balance and many needs. We have great ambitions as a community, projects to start, buildings to upgrade, programs to continue, and needs to be met. These all take careful planning and analysis for the future, to utilize our decreased revenue and resources in the wisest manner possible. Doing this absent the reliable resource forecasting required is near impossible in the current State budget climate.
Everyone asks for answers, and I tell them that the last thing I can give is certainty in the face of this State budget uncertainty. While our community means everything to us, Sonoma is a very small player in the overall scheme of the State’s decision-making process. We look for strength in numbers by rallying together with our partner cities through the League of California Cities and use our collective voice to lobby for maintenance of a predictable local revenue stream. We are not asking the State for more money, rather, we just want them to allow us to keep what is ours already under the State constitution. Most communities that chose to incorporate as cities did so for local self-determination of land use and locally-determined service levels. With the State pulling the strings as of late, and keeping us all nervously guessing, cities’ futures end up at the behest of a larger, centrally-controlled bureaucracy. Local democracy, including decisions about where to spend locally-generated tax dollars, is not able to thrive under these ominous conditions.
I appreciate the community’s understanding and patience during this time of watching and waiting. Once the State budget chips fall, we will regroup and determine how we will move forward in this difficult budget year.
And we continue to wait
Along with numerous State agencies and departments, California’s 480 cities remain in a wait and see mode regarding the adoption of the State of California’s budget. The latest plan rumored from the closed door budget meetings is that the State will be taking away a greater share of city redevelopment funds than previously anticipated, is seriously considering borrowing local property taxes, and will be taking the local share of gas taxes.
Our own City Council/Community Development Agency Board held two budget workshops in June. Based on the issues facing the City and Agency with respect to reliable revenue forecasts being hampered by a delay in the County Auditor’s property tax estimates, and the State budget situation that is still unsettled, our City Council elected the prudent course of adopting a continuing budget resolution to authorize routine expenditures in lieu of an adopted and authorized City and CDA budgets for Fiscal Year 2009-10. This move was unprecedented in the recently history of the City and reflects the extreme uncertainty that continues to exist regarding potential State takings of local tax dollars to balance the State budget.
We continue to wait, watch, and lobby for outcomes that will not devastate our local communities. Cities are mandated to provide for local police and fire protection, building safety, land use and street maintenance for our own communities, yet we cannot plan budgets for these services if the State’s financial unpredictability continues from year to year without a systemic change to address the ongoing revenue and expenditure imbalance.
Our City Council and our community has many projects in the balance and many needs. We have great ambitions as a community, projects to start, buildings to upgrade, programs to continue, and needs to be met. These all take careful planning and analysis for the future, to utilize our decreased revenue and resources in the wisest manner possible. Doing this absent the reliable resource forecasting required is near impossible in the current State budget climate.
Everyone asks for answers, and I tell them that the last thing I can give is certainty in the face of this State budget uncertainty. While our community means everything to us, Sonoma is a very small player in the overall scheme of the State’s decision-making process. We look for strength in numbers by rallying together with our partner cities through the League of California Cities and use our collective voice to lobby for maintenance of a predictable local revenue stream. We are not asking the State for more money, rather, we just want them to allow us to keep what is ours already under the State constitution. Most communities that chose to incorporate as cities did so for local self-determination of land use and locally-determined service levels. With the State pulling the strings as of late, and keeping us all nervously guessing, cities’ futures end up at the behest of a larger, centrally-controlled bureaucracy. Local democracy, including decisions about where to spend locally-generated tax dollars, is not able to thrive under these ominous conditions.
I appreciate the community’s understanding and patience during this time of watching and waiting. Once the State budget chips fall, we will regroup and determine how we will move forward in this difficult budget year.
Friday, July 10, 2009
July 15th Agenda Packet
The agenda and packet for the City Council meeting of July 15th are now posted on line at the following link:
http://www.sonomacity.org/default.aspx?PageId=50
http://www.sonomacity.org/default.aspx?PageId=50
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sonoma Disaster Council meeting
The next regular meeting of the Sonoma Disaster Council will be held on Thursday, July 9th and everyone is welcome to attend. Click to view the agenda.
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