Mayor Al Pinheiro’s State of the City Address
Over the last few months I had the pleasure of sharing on two occasions our State of the City; first with the Gilroy Rotary Club and then with our city employees in our Council Chambers. Now I have been asked by the Dispatch to share these thoughts with you, the reader.
If I were to make a general statement assessing the overall state of the city, I would say that it’s good compared to other cities of our size in California. In fact, we are in far better shape.
Our 2005 review shows numerous accomplishments. We have completed a downtown specific plan that will guide the revitalization of our downtown for many years to come. We reviewed and implemented a business incentive program focusing on the creation of jobs, completed three neighborhood parks, and approved a neighborhood district designation which included 15 percent of affordable units.
Our fire department had some exciting things happen such as the filling of several key positions including the hiring of our fire chief Dale Foster that has shown to be a positive addition to the department. The department also added two new fire apparatus as well as obtaining a Department of Homeland Security grant and gaining approval for the department to participate in the state apprentice program for firefighters.
In a not so positive side, the fire department union entered into negotiations for the renewal of their contract and were not able to settle. Today we are in a binding arbitration process that has been very stressful for both the city and the department.
Safety has always been one of our city’s top priorities; I am very proud of both our fire and police departments for the high caliber of individuals that work in these departments. The city maintains an average of 1.35 police officers per one thousand citizens, which has had a very positive impact in curtailing crime and maintaining the safety of our citizens.
The police department in the last year has worked with the school district to implement the code red program in the schools, solved the shooting that occurred near McDonalds on 10th Street, and helped San Benito Sheriffs, Hollister PD, and Morgan Hill PD with gang issues.
The administration has also been working closely to assure the completion of the new police facility that will give this department the ability to serve the citizens of Gilroy even better and more efficiently with today’s most up to date technology and work space efficiencies.
Our city’s Community Development Department focuses on projects that deal with the planning and building of our city. This past year this department oversaw the completion and adoption of the Glen Loma Specific Plan that extends alongside Santa Teresa from across Eagle Ridge to Thomas Road. This project will create a diverse residential and commercial neighborhood.
Another completed and adopted project was the Hecker Pass Specific Plan that consists of property west of Santa Teresa and First Street and goes along Hecker Pass up to Bonfante Gardens. This neighborhood has different elements of housing as well as open space and an Ag-Tourism component. Other projects such as Camino Arroyo Bridge draft design; the completion of the Gilroy Crossing commercial centers, and Habitat Conservation Plan for federal listed species were also completed.
After being so successful in our attraction of retail to Gilroy, our focus became the revitalization of our downtown. This year many positive things have happened. The completion of the Phase II streetscape and the approval and appropriation of funds for Phase III tops the list. The adoption of the downtown fee waiver program, council approval of the land swap for the Garlic Festival new office building, the un-reinforced masonry buildings abatement grant program and the mayor’s downtown forum were all completed.
Our Administrative Services Department has also been very busy the past year. One of its major objectives was to complete an internal customer service survey. Results showed over 90 percent positive response in all areas. Projects such as the installation of wireless networks in all city buildings and an information technology strategic plan implementation were approved. The department updated all part-time employee salary schedules and also completed work place harassment training for all full time city employees as well as implementing a labor management committee to analyze the city’s annual health benefits budget.
The Community Services Department oversees various departments such as streets, water, parks, landscape, recreation, volunteers, museum, youth programs and classes, environment programs, and public information. The department did an outstanding job in staying focused and providing so many positive things in each and every one of these segments. For more information about all our city’s departments, please go to the city’s Web site www.ci.gilroy.ca.us
Financial Picture
I mentioned initially that the overall financial picture of the city is good, however the city remains in a very fragile situation. In the last three years the city has not hired any additional personnel and is being proactive in keeping down expenses.
The next two years will be crucial as this is the time that the employee benefit increases will peak. Our total benefit package between 2001-2003 including retirement was approximately $2.5 million dollars per year. However in fiscal year 2005-2006 it will have incrementally increased to $6.3 million per year, which is an increase of 2.5 times.
Earlier I expressed my disappointment in not settling the fire department employee contract. If the entire package is awarded it will add over $1 million dollars to the budget and the city will not be able to sustain this kind of a hit without a degradation of services. This will also keep us from adding enhancements to existing programs.
Our sales tax income for 2004-2005 totaled $12.6 million dollars; however it was $250,000 lower than projected. Some of this shortfall we believe was due to the fact that the Highway 101/152 shopping centers came online later than expected. Our general fund total revenues including sales tax was $36.7 million. This type of dependence on sales tax places Gilroy in a very volatile position as 1/3 of our General Fund revenue comes from sales tax. Our total city budget including capital improvements is approximately $100 million dollars.
Bottom line, today the City of Gilroy has a healthy $23 million dollars in reserve and a financial bond rating of AA. However if we as a council don’t take bold steps in protecting these assets by looking into the future and spending within our means, the chances are that our future may not look so bright. An example is our ability to negotiate labor contracts where the council has oversight of what we can and cannot afford to pay for services and not an arbitrator.
To give our citizens a better understanding of our city’s financial picture, I have made a commitment to the city council that starting in May, Jay Baksa, our City Administrator, and I will visit various neighborhoods and give what will be known as the Transparency Budget Presentation. We are very open with our budget and I want the citizens of Gilroy to understand it better and to ask all the questions that they may have. I hope that the community will attend and learn more about how our city operates financially.
Looking ahead to 2006: I am excited about our accomplishments in 2005, but at the same time am looking forward to 2006 and the completion of even more wonderful projects for our city including the police station, the first and second phase of our sports park, Santa Teresa Boulevard (granted with some unexpected delays) our downtown revitalization, and the approval of the un-reinforced masonry building program downtown to safeguard our citizens from buildings falling during an earthquake. The beginning of the removal of the old buildings in preparation for our new cultural center on Seventh Street between Monterey Street and Eigleberry Street will also be occurring this year. The cannery project, design of the Camino Arroyo Bridge, and the recommendations from our citizen’s task force on solutions to our sidewalk dilemma will be on this year’s calendar. We also expect the completion of the Las Animas Park master plan and the implementation of a task force for the business improvement district for downtown.
We will continue to monitor such issues as the high speed rail project, the Valley Transportation Authority expenditure plan as it relates to the county 1/2 cent tax proposal, state bond money for a new library, and plans for development at our borders, including the San Benito Ranch project and the Sargent Ranch development.
As priorities for 2006 we will concentrate on the continued monitoring of the financial health of our city and go out to the community with a full presentation of our budget. We will continue to strive for a settlement of our police and fire labor negotiations, implement recommendations from the citizen’s sidewalk task force, and celebrate the “Year of the Downtown” by completing the streetscape project. In collaboration with the Economic Development Corporation we will concentrate on bringing additional business to our downtown.
We will focus on working with VTA to implement the needed community services especially directing our energies in bringing Gilroy the same model of community bus services as is currently used in Los Gatos.
Finally, we will continue to host our regional partners to discuss such issues as Highway 152, Rancho San Benito, LAFCO, Sargent Ranch and others that may be of mutual interest.
I am very proud and honored to be the mayor of the City of Gilroy and ask all of our citizens to take steps in becoming involved in our community, be it as part of the many commissions or boards of the city or as a volunteer on one of Gilroy’s non-profit organizations. Only by participating and becoming part of the solution can you make a difference and insure that Gilroy continues to be a “Better Place to Live”.
I hope that the information that I have provided gives you a sense of how our city is doing and invite you to contact me personally should you have any questions. My office number is 842-4619 or my cell is 483-3886.
Al Pinheiro, Mayor, City of Gilroy
