Greetings!
Many thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Snta Rosa, for her analysis of this week's Santa Rosa City Council agenda:
Friends: Before I tell you about the agenda for the upcoming Council meeting, I need to tell you about the Council's Goal-Setting session held on 7/19/18.
Many thanks to our friend, Anne Seeley, of Concerned Citizens For Snta Rosa, for her analysis of this week's Santa Rosa City Council agenda:
Friends: Before I tell you about the agenda for the upcoming Council meeting, I need to tell you about the Council's Goal-Setting session held on 7/19/18.
At that session, the Council was given the information that in each of the upcoming 10 years, the City will be operating in a deficit. They will be given a list of options for spending reductions created by staff in September. At this session they gave staff ideas for what should and should not be considered for reduction.
They also learned that the City has used much of its reserves in response to the recent emergency. By June 30,2019 the reserve fund will be $19 million under the mandated 15% level.
Council Agenda Highlights for 7/24/18
The biggest thing on this agenda is Report item 14.3, in which the council will consider revenue-producing options they might take.
Before that, at 3:30PM, a Study Session will examine A Police Department Unmanned Aerial System Program. The department has begun studies on how law enforcement agencies could earn or maintain their community's' trust in a wide variety of law enforcement and public safety applications. Come and hear about this!
10.2.1 The Council will discuss whether to put on a future agenda the matter of rent stabilization. That discussion will cover all possible Council actions: whether to pass such an ordinance themselves or place on the ballot the citizen-raised measure that has likely achieved the necessary number of petition signatures. Or, something else.
14.3 City of Santa Rosa Ballot Measures for Affordable Housing AND General City Services.
Options to be discussed are: 1) A quarter cent sales tax measure; 2) increasing the TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) from 9% to 14%; and 3) a General Obligation Bond. All options require voter approval.
The City hired 2 companies to conduct an opinion survey on these options. The Council received the results on June 26 and then asked the surveyors to conduct a poll only on the Bond Measure.
Recommendation by the City Manager, the Finance,Housing and Community Services Departments: that the Council introduce an ordinance for establish a temporary quarter-cent sales tax for 6 years AND also to approve a resolution to submit a ballot measure for the sales tax on the November,2018 ballot.
Additionally, they recommended an ordinance to increase the TOT to 12% and approve a ballot measure on it for voter approval in November.
Third, they recommend the issuance of general obligation bonds for the purpose of funding affordable housing and by resolution, approve ballot language and an expenditure plan.
Fourth, they recommend that the Council submit a Housing Recovery Bond for affordable rental and ownership housing to the voters in November.
After all that, at or after (likely after) 5PM, the Council will have a Public Hearing:
15.1 Appeal of Final Design Review for the proposed Emerald Isle Community Care facility, proposed for a parcel off of Thomas Lake Harris Drive, on Gullane Drive.
There are questions of over-concentration of community care facilities and the potential safety of occupants.
See you there!
Anne
