Economic Development.  Street and Road Repair.  Increased patrol and police presence.  Safety Hall.  Investments in Parks and Open Space. The Redlands Mall.  Balanced Budgets.

By Mayor Pete Aguila

     Which of these priorities is the most important to Redlands? Which is most important to you? Or is there something we’re missing that should be prioritized above all of these.

      The City has no shortage of important priorities.  But we do have limited staff, revenues and resources to address everything that is important to our residents and local businesses. So how should the City allocate available resources to address those things that are most important to the greatest number of people?

     The truth is, the City doesn’t have all the answers.  What priorities are we missing?  Which are the top priorities? How do we stretch existing resources or find new resources to address each?

    What can the City do to attract high quality businesses, retain those we have and assure the success of our local economy?

         How do we make the significant capital investment needed to reverse decades of neglect on our City’s streets and roads?

      What is the appropriate size and role for our police force, which has been reduced along with other City departments as a result of decreasing revenues? And how does the City address the Police Department’s need for a permanent facility to replace the shuttered Safety Hall?

          Our parks, trees and open space are a large part of Redlands’ unique character. What can we do to properly maintain them and even expand our open space for current and future generations?

          The City doesn’t own the Redlands Mall and talks with the owners have been unproductive. How can we use the City’s existing asset – the parking around the mall – to encourage quality development there? Or is there another direction we should be taking?

          And, in the midst of all of these priorities, how do we maintain a balanced budget and continue to build reserves, as we’ve done for the past five years? 

          The City Council has asked for comprehensive review of these issues and will give direction to City staff to map out a strategy to address a few of these concerns at a coming meeting in October.

          The input from community stakeholders is essential. We welcome and appreciate your thoughts and comments as we begin to shape those discussions.

          As we begin these discussions, there are sure to be a wide range of opinions. This City Council has proven that we can work together to discuss important issues and significant differences in an atmosphere of respect, hammering out solutions that are in the best interest of our community. While we don’t always agree on items and priorities there is a genuine openness and desire to hear from each other and the community before we make decisions.

          The City Council and staff stand ready and committed toward setting priorities and discussing solutions with public input in the weeks ahead.  Be sure to let us know what you think.

How Can We Best Assess Redlands’ Fiscal Health?

There are many factors to consider in assessing the fiscal health of a municipality such asRedlands, but the three most important all start with “R”: Reduced spending, Revenues, and Reserves.

The city started cutting back on spending several years ago.  To date almost 20 percent of the workforce has been eliminated.  For example, the police force has been reduced from 98 officers to 76 currently.   These reductions have not been without impact, but staff have worked hard to use technology and improved business processes to make up for the decreased resources.    Major costs for capital infrastructure projects such as street repair, and replacement vehicles have been deferred.   The overall goal has been to live within our means as much as possible.  This approach must continue as long as resources are tight.

Careful revenue projections are another important consideration.   As the economy improves, it can be tempting to project overly optimistic increased sales or property tax yields based on recent quarter or annual payments. Redlands leaders and staff have resisted this temptation, relying on a conservative approach, meaning the only surprises that occur will be positive, not negative changes.   Fee revenue also must be carefully estimated, and not counted until it is clear it will occur.   Prudent revenue projections are one definite strategy that has helped Redlands maintain better fiscal health.

Finally, building and protecting adequate reserves is critical to good financial management.   Several years ago the reserves had shrunk to very low levels.  Through disciplined and tough management, current reserves have increased to over $12 million, or 20 percent of the city’s proposed $60 million 2012-2013 General Fund budget.   These are “rainy day” funds that will not be touched unless there is truly a disaster or some other significant event justifying their use.   I hope to increase our reserves to 25 percent of the General Fund in the next few years.

Of course, this is not to say all this goes without some impact to city residents and businesses.   We are still well behind in investing in our infrastructure, namely our many streets, sidewalks, curbs, trees, and lights.   Many of our vehicles are well past their useful lives.   We are putting together some plans this fall to begin to focus in these areas, and will be sharing those plans later.   We are also working with our labor partners to agree on new contracts that will reflect current fiscal realities yet maintain our abilities to recruit and provide a competent and effective workforce.    

It’s a constant balancing act between living within our means, yet also looking to the future and investing to build Redlands even better than it is today.   I look forward to working with the Chamber as we face this challenge.

Late Friday night, July 13, the Chamber learned that the City Council was considering approving an ordinance referred to as the “Soda Tax” that would apply a 1 cent per ounce business license tax on sugar added drinks sold in the City of Redlands as a ballot proposal on the November election. It is suggested that the tax could be used to help fund recreational programs, provide health education materials, nutrition classes, additional sports fields, recreation staffing and activities. It further suggests the tax will aide in the battle against obesity, heart disease and diabetes by using the funds generated to pay for education campaigns and other obesity-related programs.

The revenue collected by implementing the sugar added business license tax would go into the general fund. An advisory committee would recommend how the money would be used. Because this is a general tax it would only require a simple majority of the voters.

The ordinance had not been completely detailed and a number of questions had been left unanswered. President Paul Barich called an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee Tuesday morning, July 17, to discuss the issue and take a position on the agenda item. The Committee unanimously opposed the ordinance and appeared before City Council that evening asking them to NOT approve the ordinance, what in essence appeared to be “a blank check” …. an ordinance with no detail. The committee decision was based on a number of facts. The business community had not had any input … the hasty action to move the ordinance forward was not consistent with the message of transparency in government that is being delivered by City leaders. The Chamber had not been allowed sufficient time to speak to those businesses who will be most impacted by the action and the Chamber has a significant list of questions that need to be addressed and City staff was unable to answer those questions as of the Council meeting.

The Chamber as an advocate of the business community took quick action to insure that a hasty decision did not forever impact the local small businesses of Redlands.