Nine years ago I took a seat on the dais in the Gilroy City
Council Chambers.
Nine years ago I took a seat on the dais in the Gilroy City Council Chambers.
Nine years ago I had a long list of objectives that I knew I could accomplish.
Nine years ago I had a dream of what was to come.
With the passage of time, Gilroy is a different place.
As I stepped down last week from my seat, I looked back over my shoulder at what has transpired over the last nine years with the realization that there was so much more we could have or should have done.
The job of the city council is never over and there is always work to be done.
There are a few major goals that I hope this city council will tackle where time is of the essence. The best opportunity to accomplish this comes in late January when the city council holds their annual retreat, policy session. The following issues I believe should be addressed include but are not limited to:
1. The city budget has not been balanced in many years. What I mean by balanced is that expenses do not exceed revenue. Some think that if you spend money from the city’s savings, you can call it balanced. I have always felt strongly that the council needs to pass an ordinance that REQUIRES the budget be balanced every year. In other words, Gilroy should never pass a budget where we plan to spend more than our income.
2. Nine years ago the General Plan Update Committee presented a 20-year General Plan to the council. It included a planning tool called “the Neighborhood District.” It is a very good plan but it requires that the RDO (Residential Development Ordinance) be updated to reflect this new tool. The council needs to update the RDO within six months and plan for the growth of this city’s residential areas accordingly. The current RDOs run out in two years.
3. With all the city business that needs to be done in the coming years, this council needs to go back to regular weekly meetings; Council meetings on the first and third weeks of the month and study sessions the second and fourth weeks of the month. Currently the meetings are scheduled too far apart causing council meetings to drag on late into the night which is not a healthy environment for wise decision making.
4. We need new updated design standards for new home construction. We should require that all new homes be solar and that anyone who wants to add solar to home or business can do so with no cost for permits. We need to require that all new developments provide a safe way to school in their plans. This should include sidewalks and bike paths for the kids to use when going to or coming from school.
5. Get rid of the URM (unreinforced masonry) requirements for the downtown buildings. This has almost stopped all work in the area. The current requirements are not reasonable. This council needs to be creative in the way we attract businesses to downtown and stop getting in the way.
7. Have an independent auditor look at the way impact fees have been established, collected and spent. When it costs $60,000-plus in impact fees to build a home and that cost is added on to the price of the homes, it becomes prohibitive. An independent auditor can review the true costs of the impact a house has on the community and establish a new fee schedule. They can also ensure that the money collected to date has been spent properly.
7. Bring back the clarification of issues brought up in public forums. Years ago it was agreed by the city council that if incorrect facts were brought forward, a press release with the correct facts would be issued. As an example, last week the issue of how much of the city budget was being spent of public safety was incorrect, in truth, the city General Fund for 2010 is about $33,000,000. Of that, about 65 percent was spent on public safety. Over the last five years, almost $2,000,000 has been trimmed from the public safety budget.
8. Change the format of the retreats from department presentations to council goal and objectives for the coming years. Council needs to be giving directions to the city staff of what they want to see accomplished and what time frame they want it accomplished in. The council should be making policy and city staff should be responsible for carrying out those policies. Not the other way around. The council should be reflecting the wishes and desires of this community.
And finally, the most important goal (personally) is that the city council should make sure that all their meetings are open to the public even if it means they have to tolerate the public voicing their opposition to a certain subjects, isn’t that what an open government should maintain as a core value?
Just something to think about …
Craig Gartman is a local businessman and former councilmember. Reach him at Gi***********@***oo.com
