Issues

By Stephanie Johnson

It is time for a change! Our City government needs to A.C.T. + be accountable, credible and transparent.

Please review some of the issues I feel are important to improve our City government. I hope to hear from you on the issues that are of concern to you, as I welcome your feedback.

If you agree that it is time for a change, then together we can ACT!

• Build a consensus that includes everyone, not just the special interests of a select few.
• Take back our streets by reducing speed, volume and cut-through traffic.
• Restore the financial health of the City.
• Provide safer routes to schools and school drop off areas.

Having attended the City Council meetings regularly over the last six years, I have observed that the Council has become insular and unreceptive to public input. The disconnect between the City government and the residents it serves has resulted, and justifiably so, in the blow-back the Council has recently received regarding City finances and the Library project.

In our current situation, there are two entities: the City and the residents who live in San Marino. I believe that the people are the City, and that the government serves them. Nobody should be told by City staff to "move" in response to reports of problems. Nobody should be made to feel unwelcome at a Council meeting

The Council should govern, not rule.

Traffic

The City Council has failed miserably with regard to Traffic control and abatement, ignoring the Circulation Element of the General Plan that was adopted in 1994, several traffic management plans and repeated requests from its citizens to address and resolve serious traffic problems.

The ever increasing traffic is a threat to our safety, the quality of life in San Marino, and will, if left unchecked, devalue our property. The apathy of the Council has resulted in unsafe conditions on several of our streets. Huntington Drive has become a "freeway" and Los Robles a cut-through nightmare. Yet development plans in surrounding cities, and county-wide traffic initiatives will bring more traffic through San Marino in the near future and the City is an unwitting accomplice.

The City must come to its own defense and understand that it is possible to affect change. The rerouting of the MTA buses from Los Robles to Fair Oaks is an example of what neighborhood involvement and determination can accomplish.

Traffic control and mitigation must be at the top of the City Agenda.

Finances

The City of San Marino is quite small, operating under a $23 million annual budget, and serving an affluent community with high expectations.

The challenge of the Council is to continue to provide first-rate services, City infrastructure, capital improvements and new projects with limited resources. Despite the high taxes we pay, the current state of City finances is problematic.

The current operating budget allocates approx. $12 million (98% of Property, Utility and Safety tax revenues or 71% of the operating budget) to staff costs in salaries and benefits. Because the staffing costs are significant, we must ensure that City services are being provided in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible.

In addition to ongoing staff costs, the City has a debit owed to the CalPERS retirement plan reported to be between $7.7 - 9 million. The Council intends to refinance the debit by issuing bonds.

The Council pledged $5.5 million for the Library project and has funded the entire $17.5 million project, removing the funds from the City reserve. Fundraising for the Library project has not yet met its goal. In order to maintain City reserves at an appropriate level, the City has recently borrowed $2 million. Instead of earning interest, the Council is now paying it.

Library

With the blow of the wrecking ball, the "brand new Library" is a fait accompli.

The residents of San Marino should have been given the opportunity to vote on the Library project in order to assess public support for it and approval for the large discretionary expense.

The funding of the Library project has from the outset been problematic. It is foolhardy to commit to a project based upon wishful financial thinking.

Proposed Community Center

Do we need it? Who wants it? Is the proposed plan adequate? Is it economically viable? How do we pay for it? Traffic/Parking issues.

Let us learn from the Library project. The Community Center project requires full public vetting and a vote.

Schools

The safety of our children is paramount. The City must mitigate the traffic on Huntington Drive and ensure that there are safe routes to school.