Responsible Balanced Budget

By Bobbi Jo Chavarria

The city has been faced with declining tax revenue, a seizure of money from the state and increasing litigation costs.

Declining property values have taken a toll on the city's revenues as well as overall sales tax revenues because of the recession and the burst of the housing bubble, but the city is also responsible for depressing real estate values in some parts of the city by declaring blight and then creating the opportunity for investors and large companies to purchase land at the reduced value. When this happens, property taxes are locked in at that reduced value until a transfer of sale. I propose that redevelopment investment be used to increase the value of the land rather than first further depressing it. I will support smart in-fill development, create partnerships to enhance local businesses, and invest in the type of infrastructure improvements that "redevelopment" areas were created to accomplish (i.e. sewers, storm drains, sidewalks, etc.) in communities to increase value and revenue.

RISING LITIGATION COSTS DUE TO BAD POLICY

Some recent litigation costs to the city include civil rights violations lawsuits, a $37.5 million ruling against Fontana for failing to properly address a much-needed sidewalk near a school that resulted in a student's death, and the continuing defense for the city's non-compliance of providing affordable and low-income housing mandates with redevelopment money. These areas can be addressed by fixing policy and being proactive when it comes to areas that leave us vulnerable to lawsuits. I will provide the leadership to ensure that we're not spending valuable taxpayer dollars on the aftermath of not having sound policy decisions in the first place. Additionally, one reason there was such a large amount of redevelopment money available for seizure was because the projects that should be moved forward including keeping up with our affordable housing mandates and providing infrastructure investment throughout the city has not been done.

COST-CONTAINMENT STEPS - Reduce costs of long-term debt, reduce spending, and conduct a financial and contractual audit.

Cost-containment is key, and one area where the city is spending over $50 million dollars annually from the general fund and in the redevelopment agency in debt service. While our bond rating is still good and we have reserves, it makes sense to refinance and reduce our outstanding debt as much as possible to reduce this cost and to limit the amount of new debt that we incur. I also will champion a financial and contractual audit to ensure that wasteful spending is controlled and that Fontana residents are receiving the best value for contracted services and projects, and that such contracts were awarded in a transparent, fair, and reasonable manner.