The function of the City Council, a City Council Member and the Staff:
The City Council is the body that approves the actions of the Staff who works as guided by the priorities set by the City Council and the required laws of the county and state and the city ordinances. The Staff has the responsibility to carryout the tasks required or are the actual workers. The staff also provides input to the City Council for discussion and consideration prior to taking action on a non routine or pre authorized action. The Individual Council Member has no individual power or authority to act without the entire Council's Consent for a specific purpose. Council Members should listen to constituents and carry the information to the Council Chamber, but never should a Council Member say he or she will take care of a particular problem as an individual interface. IF the constituents concern is a routine matter the City Council Member may inform the City Manager of the Issue so that if routine it could be dealt with properly or put on the Agenda for Full Council Consideration.
How I see Grand Terrace ten years from now and how this year's decisions help get the ball rolling in relation to the Grand Terrace General Plan and the Barton Road Specific Plan. I see a need to modify both plans to push them out of the 80's mind set and into the 2020's or 2050's. The Planning/Economic Development Department should provide plan ready drawings for the installation of Composting Toilets, Solar Panel Installations, and Parking Lot Car Ports with Solar Panels. Electric charging parking lots and power generated will off set the cost of power to businesses. I see a entire city that is designated as an Economic Zone and Each Home as a Home Based Business Location. Free Business Licenses can be obtained by any Home Owner or Renter. The Free License comes with the requirement to receive payments through a banking agreement that will automatically collect sales taxes. The Home Based Businesses will be encouraged to provide goods and services for a customer base outside of Grand Terrace, thus generating new capital or expendable funds to our local economy.
I see the Water of Blue Mt. or Grand Terrace Water being a resource we all own and can benefit from. Our water company has a product we can sell as a community. Each house hold will have an allotment of water. Any allotment not used by the household can then be bottled and sold. The sale will generate Sales Tax to the City and Income for the Water Company and the Citizen who did not use the water. In order to save water, all toilets will be converted to composting toilets, and the city will have its own gray water treatment and distribution facility. Humus will be collected and transformed into power or some other safe by product or burned for power generation.
The City will encourage homeowners to install PV Power to their home sites by providing ready approved free plans for installation. The Community will support internally 50% of its working aged adults and 100% of its working aged teenagers who desire part time employment or a volunteer opportunity. There should be artisins shops and light manufacturing in Grand Terrace. In addition there should be a Electric and Hydrogen Only Auto Repair Service Industry to be captured. The entire city should have free wireless access.
This will all be done in part by the city getting out of the way of entrepreneurship. The city will stop promoting the idea that the Redevelopment Agency is some how wanted in every business and homes business. Land and Business ownership should be restored to those who own the land and business. If the land is “Under Utilized” that is the Owner's prerogative not the Problem of the City. The city may provide ideas, options and opportunities for that Owner. However, it should not be the practice of the city to dictate to a land owner or business owner.
I see a city that has a strong and busy volunteer base of 10 percent of its citizens per month providing active civic services. I see the Dog Park finished by such a group. The City will get out of the way, and allow folks to donate what they can find, as they find it. Chain Link Fence from Craigs List, or Picnic Tables from a Government Auction... Composting Toilets (Modern) and so forth. Citizens can get these things done much more efficiently than the Government, IF the Government would get out of the way. Provide guidelines and let the volunteers get it done.
A housing facility for extremely low income and homeless vets and women will house our share of the nations poor and disenfranchised. These facilities will require the renter to pay 25 percent of their income for rent 10 percent into a savings account to facilitate their eventual moving out of the facility. If we don't allow homeless people to live on our streets we must provide a place for people to lay their heads, have a drink of water and at least starve to death in some sort of dignity.
A day labor and employment agency for Grand Terrace will aid citizens and business in connecting local labor with local jobs. This will include part time work for teens. This employment agency will be privately owned and will receive a 10 percent charge for the connection. All labor starts at minimum wage or above. The person hired does not pay the fee, the employer does. All employees would be checked for employment status and proper taxes would be paid.
How we get to a future of sustainability depends on what we do this year. Rather than make a bigger debt hole as Mr. Schwab proposed at the interview. I think we struggle this year. The budget will be tough. Even if the Economic Zone was changed it will take time for home businesses to get sufficient revenue to fill the needs of our City's current budget.
Many people in this recession have taken pay cuts of 40 percent and are still working 50 hours a week to keep that job. Any city employee earning above $50,000.00 per year should receive a 60 percent pay cut on all income above $50,000.00. All legal means should be used to reduce the current cost of retired employees, and the cost of future retirements. All medical coverage should be limited to communicable diseases, employment injury, any other costs should be considered add on and paid for by the individual. Co pays should be paid by the individual not the city. Stipends to the City Council Members should be cut by 60 percent and only actual travel expenses should be paid via a travel voucher / report accounting procedure. If the City Council met 2 times a month that is 24 meetings and Mc Naboe said one council member costs 14,000 per year. That is 583.33 per meeting. Some council members use more Medical Benefits than others.
I see the need for the employment payroll checks to be at least in a summary report to the Citizens and Council. This expense is not on the check register and as the Human Costs increase the citizens never get a grip on that budget item.
This city needs to begin to get out of the RDA addiction. The city will exist with out it, it isn't like some big black hole will swallow us up and we become dust. Dooms Day for the RDA is not Armageddon. Natural yes Piece Meal Development is the soundest. With a reasonable plan and reasonable specific plans and zoning Piece Meal Development is what built this country, and what is sustainable. This has to start this year. No new RDA Projects should be funded by increasing the Debt. Let Developers pay their own way. RDA development is not sustainable.
