The City Council has a full agenda for their regular meeting Monday night. Here’s a few of the items your community leaders will be discussing:
-City Council will consider the purchase of Uvas Debell Park Preserve. The 100-acre open space park, which is currently owned by Santa Clara County, is subject to the rules and regulations of the County – and not the City.
“This leaves City staff to enforce different sets of rules in contiguous park areas and different maintenance rules,” wrote Public Works Director Rick Smelser and Senior Civil Engineer David Stubchaer in the staff report recommending the park’s purchase.
In 2006, the City received a state grant for approximately $229,574 to complete a 2,200-foot-long Uvas Creek trail extension project, eventually completed in 2013. If Gilroy purchases the park preserve, it could receive roughly $229,000 in reimbursement from the state as it would satisfy the only outstanding requirement of the grant – which is to own the property in the first place.
-City Council could tack on additional wording to an ordinance passed Jan. 6 that prohibits the establishment, expansion and relocation of payday lending and check cashing businesses within Gilroy. On the agenda is a motion to adopt additional wording that defines a “bank” or an “office.”
“The City Council finds that the proliferation of payday lending and check cashing businesses has had significant detrimental effects on the financial stability of low-income communities throughout California,” reads the ordinance slated for consideration at Monday night’s meeting.
-City staff will present the audit of City finances for fiscal year 2012-2013. What’s some of the good news? The actual operating expenditures for the City’s General Fund were $37.2 million, which was approximately $3.1 million less than budgeted.
“This difference is primarily due to continued conservative spending in response to the decrease in revenue from historic highs over the past few years as a result of the general economic downturn,” reads the audit report.
Gilroy garnered certain increases in property tax and sales tax revenues during the audited time period, while most City program expenses increased during the fiscal year. Public safety costs rung in at a cost of $28.8 million by the end of the year, while community development programs cost the City $15.5 million.
The regularly scheduled City Council meeting takes place at 6 p.m. on Monday in council chambers of Gilroy’s City Hall, located at 7351 Rosanna St.
