Plenty of reasons Turlock should be celebrating

New jobs, crucial reforms in city governance and a new council members are reasons the people of Turlock should be celebrating. Finding ways to take better care of our roads, provide clean drinking water and rebuilding our reserves are reasons they should be excited.

Blue Diamond recently broke ground for an expansion of its plant to meet growing demand for almond milk. The 52,000 square foot addition brings new jobs and reinforces the focus of becoming a center of food production.

The city council is quickly implementing important reforms. First, we returned key responsibilities to the city manager such as signing city contracts. The council has made it clear that neither the mayor or council members will intervene in day-to-day city operations. That’s not our job. We set policy; the city manager implements it.

Second, we will not tolerate employees being subjected to a hostile work environment at the hands of elected officials or anyone else.

Third, the recent election created a vacancy in my former council district. Though I would have preferred a special election so voters could fill the position, the $70,000 cost was too much given our budget. So the council interviewed eight applicants in a public forum. After a thorough process, Becky Arellano was chosen for the vacancy and is already contributing.

We have challenges in addition to successes. The biggest is our budget shortfall. We cannot continue to use $3.8 million in reserve funds to meet operating expenses. The council will do what’s necessary to meet this challenge.

For example, over the past several months legal fees have exceeded $60,000 a month. This cost is unsustainable, so we have requested competitive proposals to get the city’s legal expenses under control.

To develop a new city budget, we have directed the city manager to consult with department heads, labor unions and employees to determine how best to deliver services in the most cost-effective way. After reviewing the results, the Council will have public workshops so residents can provide their input on how a new spending can meet our needs without breaking the bank.

Cutting costs is not the only way to balance our budget. Some people have suggested raising taxes to close our budget deficit, but I will not support new taxes before we try other approaches. Economic development is the best way to create new revenue for our city. Soon, we will present new economic development strategies to assist our local economy.

Managing the out-of-control costs of the new surface-water project is a critical challenge. While this began as a regional effort, today only ratepayers in Turlock and Ceres are slated to foot the bill. We must address our future water needs, but I cannot support a water plan that increases your rates over $125 a month.

I have met with new Congressman Josh Harder to seek his help in securing federal funding.

The terrible condition of our local roads is a constant challenge. Passing Measure L helps enormously. But we will pursue other strategies, like requiring utility companies to fully repair any damage they create while doing utility maintenance. No longer will utility companies be allowed to break into our roads and then simply patch the damage in a way that leads to potholes.

Finally, we must address the issue of homelessness in a humane way that also respects the rights of homeowners and business owners. We have returned our parks to the community and are laying the groundwork to develop a consensus strategy to address homelessness. Thanks to the leadership of Turlock residents such as Liz Pedia and Jason Freitas, the lines of communication between the homeless and our council are improving daily.

Turlock faces many challenges. By working together in an open, transparent manner, together we can meet them, making our city an even better place to live.

This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 6:34 AM.