Trinidad's Future May Depend on Your City Council Selection

By Chi-Wei Lin

Candidate's statement

I joined the City Council four years ago because I realized that Trinidad was facing serious problems. The City had no police. The general fund reserve had been reduced from $300,000 to $100,000 in two years due to overspending. There was no budget and no city accountant to keep the books in order. The ship was sinking fast. With pending litigation looming, the threat of our City going bankrupt was quite real.

Since joining the Council, I have been an active member and have taken on significant responsibilities. Initially, I served as the police commissioner mainly to arrange for temporary police protection while recruiting a new police chief. I also served as the water commissioner. My responsibility was to ensure adequate supply of clean water for the residents in and around Trinidad. After a police chief was found, I become the street commissioner to oversee major repaving of many of our streets. Most importantly, I played a major role in our effort to prevent the City from bankruptcy by implementing strict spending control and measures to increase revenue as well as improving processes for budgeting, accounting, and reporting.

Results of these collective efforts by the current City Council is very apparent. First, the City's financial status has improved significantly: the accounting book is in order, a surplus in 2004 with a balance of over $180,000 in the general fund account, and a balanced budget for 2005. Further, the Council has made the difficult decisions of selling unused city properties and increasing the City's sales tax to rebuild the general fund reserve.

Not only the City has been lifted out of imminent financial crisis, but the Council also has made many significant improvements around the City. We now have a well staffed and well equipped police department. There are two new ADA approved bathrooms in the town hall. Many of the city's streets are newly repaved. We now have sidewalks along the main corridors, and a new walkway down to the beach.

Overall, the City is in a much better shape now then four years ago. Considering the fact that our Nation, State, County and many cities coast-to-coast are all experiencing financial crises, the current City Council of Trinidad has achieved something quite remarkable. I am very proud to be part of it.

Looking ahead, the next four years are important for the fiscal health of this City. With the sale of two properties and increase sales tax for four years, we can expect to accumulate more than $600,000 in our general fund reserve, which will provide a long-term financial security for the city. But we must continue exercise strict fiscal control, particularly in limiting the cost of litigation. If re-elected, I will work very hard to ensure that we achieve this goal. Further, major progress can be made to improve our City physically in the next four years, A number of these projects sure now in progress, and I can make substantial contributions to these efforts. I would like to complete a number of projects now in progress, including building the Trinidad Saunders Memorial Park, improve the Axel Lindgren Memorial Trial, and projects in the water facility so that its water quality can meet new government standards.

Trinidad is a unique place. It not only has exquisite nature beauty but also is one of the smallest and oldest incorporated cities in California. Its citizens are well educated in the practice of democracy and are very active in volunteerism. This makes us in true sense of the word, a democratic community. We must do everything we can to preserve the nature treasure as well as to maintain the long tradition of our democratic government. This calls for a delicate balance between conservation to protect our environment and small town character, with simultaneous efforts to promote adequate commerce that will provide adequate tax revenue to support functions of the city government. Each member of the City Council, who are responsible for performing this balancing act must therefore set proper priorities for city policy. They must have vision to see the whole picture, intelligence to understand all of the issues involved, self discipline to prevent bias from clouding judgment, and the experience to manage complicated tasks. Most of all, they must have the courage to make difficult choices. My record as a council member over the past four years indicates that I can measure up to these standards. I shall be able to make substantial contributions to help the City meets the new challenges.

Your vote in selecting the Trinidad City Council is important. It can make a difference in the future of our City. If you agree that my record and qualifications show that I can make a positive contribution in the next City Council, then please vote for me and support my work toward a secure and brighter future for Trinidad.