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Pat on the Issues

Budget

The City of Novato receives 1 % of the sales taxes levied by the State on goods purchased in our city limits; and, after the voters approved Measure F in 2010, our sales tax revenue was increased by .5% for five years as a stop gap measure on further reductions in service levels especially for our police, maintenance, senior and youth programs. The City also receives about 7 cents for every dollar of property tax paid in the city limits which is the lowest level for all the cities in Marin. Apparently, the City Council during the 1970's wanted to make sure that "mil rate" (now called property tax) on properties in Novato covered the services provided. Since the properties were increasing in value, the Council reduced the "mil rate" several times. When Proposition 13 passed in 1978, it froze all current "mil rates" and the State redistributed the property tax amongst the special districts in Novato resulting in the City receiving 7 cents and the Novato Fire Protection District receiving 14 cents on the dollar spent. So, our property tax revenues are one of the lowest in Marin County.

Novato is not immune to the tough economic times that almost every city, county, state and the federal government are experiencing. Our revenue from sales and property taxes has been greatly affected by this recession.

To address this structural and cyclical deficit, over the last five years we have we reduced our workforce by 25%, decreased employee compensation and benefits, and consolidated and eliminated City services. From FY 07/08 through FY 11/12, the City made $6.5 million in ongoing reductions; 20% of the City's General Fund. In 2010, the Council declared a fiscal emergency and placed Measure F, a 5 year 1/2 cent sales tax, on the ballot which passed by 58%, preventing more cuts from impacting Novato residents and our overall quality of life. With Measure F in place, we directed staff to create a long-term plan that would stabilize the City's financial future which will be finalized in late 2013.

There is no question: We've started doing things differently in Novato. We have and are looking for and implementing efficiencies so we can spend less while maintaining the essential services — especially our public safety.

For example, our engineers in the Public Works Department implemented electronic bid documents which provided significant cost savings for the City of Novato - about $40,000/year. We are constructing city offices, bringing the city staff back to our downtown, while saving over $100,000/month in rent. We have installed solar units on three city buildings and converted half of our streetlights to LED saving on our electrical costs.

Efficiencies alone, however, will not get the City through this global economic downturn. I am proud to say with confidence that Novato has a bright future. Like many communities across America, we've worked hard to recover from the recession — and the hard work and dedication of the people who live and work here has paid off.

We need to stay focused on the most important priorities — and there is no priority more important than public safety, making tough decisions when necessary to reduce and finally eliminate our structural budget deficit. To continue reducing expenditures, I have suggested we consider increasing the supervisor-to-staff ratio, aggressively applying for federal and staff grants to hire more police officers, to weatherize our buildings to reduce our energy use, and to help fund some of our important community programs. We established a policy for the use of the Long-Term Maintenance Reserve Fund; and, have begun discussions with the School District, North Marin Water District and Novato Sanitary District to focus on where we could collaborate to save resources in these tight budget years.

Lastly, I continue to advocate for a Revenue Stabilization Fund so in the years when our revenues exceed our projections we save those funds for a rainy day. This fund would be in addition to a true Emergency Fund in case of an earthquake or flood that requires immediate funds to respond for the community.

Novato has gotten through tough times in the past and we will again as long as we continue to work together.

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Neighborhood Protection and Public Safety

There can be no more important priority for government than protecting the safety of its citizens. Everyone deserves to live in safe and quiet neighborhoods. Everyone wants to feel secure in their homes and on the streets where they live. The number one job of government is to protect people and property. I understand that without safety, there is no quality of life.

My priority is to provide the best public safety possible. That is why I have continuously supported adding new police officers and worked to add a two-dog K-9 unit in 1996. We are very fortunate in our community to have a program, Pennies for Police Dogs, initiated by several community leaders in our town to increase our K-9 unit to three dogs. I led the fight to keep and modernize Novato's 911 Dispatch. When city officials tried to outsource Novato's 911 Dispatch to save money, I dug deeper in our budget and found the money to save it because I knew our emergency dispatch was too important to cut.

Novato is growing. Property crimes are on the rise. But our Police Department has fewer sworn police officers today than we did in 2003, prior to the build-out of the Hamilton area. Sure, budgets are tight. But criminals do not stop committing crimes in tight budget times, and Novato should not cut public safety services. We need to fight drugs and alcohol in schools, and put more cops on the street.

Last year, we received a grant creating a Neighborhood Response Team based in our police department to focus on specific needs within our community. This is a three-year grant, and, we have committed with Measure F funds to continue this highly responsive team. However, we need to continue to look at other revenue streams to hire more officers.

I want to see Novato's low crime rate stay low, and get even lower. You have my word that I will always put your safety at the top of my list of concerns.

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Affordable Housing

Affordable workforce housing is very much needed in Marin County. In Novato, many, if not most, of our police officers and teachers cannot afford to live here. Much the same is true of our firefighters, public works employees, and others. This is not good for the community because in a state of emergency it will be hard for those, on whom we depend to keep us safe, to reach Novato.

Our sense of community suffers when the people who are responsible for protecting us and teaching our children are only available during working hours.

Over the last decade, we created almost 600 units at the former Navy housing site at Hamilton, 50 percent of which are for purchase as workforce housing. We gave our essential workers - police, fire, teachers, other City, County and School District employees - the first shot at the housing, bringing these workers home. These units were built in character with our community, with lots of open space and neighborhood parks.

Novato, many years ago, stepped up and supported construction of Homeward Bound, our only homeless shelter in Marin County; the Next Key which provides about 30 units of transitional housing. We have done a lot in Novato.

The other area where we need more affordable housing is for our seniors. We have approved senior housing projects in Novato, some of which are dedicated as affordable units. But, we have not kept pace with the increasing need for senior housing and we must do more to provide the housing that seniors need. In-fill projects are good for seniors because they do not generate traffic and/or require a lot of parking.

Bottom line, though, is that future affordable housing needs to be compatible with our neighborhoods and small town character. The City of Novato should not have a requirement for 30 units per acre which fits well in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and other urban areas, but not Novato. Our density should be the same as Sonoma and Napa Counties which is 20 units per acre.

I have and will continue to work with our State legislators to get this density requirement changed to maintain our small town character.

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Downtown Revitalization

I am very excited about the renovation and the revitalization of our Downtown. Our downtown is one of the ways that we define our community character and as such, it is very important that the downtown acts as an economic, social, civic, and recreational hub.

In 2004, Novato completed the restoration of Grant Avenue, which eliminated the crown in the street, re-built our sidewalks and corrected drainage problems - resulting in a $10.5 million beautification project and a community investment that is the largest capital improvement project in Novato.

We've now completed the renovation of Novato's icon — our historic church which is now the Council Chambers and home for community events. Currently, we are working with our downtown businesses to draw more shoppers downtown by having events and initiating the Shop Novato campaign.

There are some catalyst projects that will help continue the downtown revitalization that is in the works: acquisition and possible rebuilding of the old train depot; and the renovation of the Novato Theater.

We need to continue to bring high quality, diverse businesses and entertainment venues to our downtown, including a bookstore, restaurants, and other retail businesses. I am fully committed to making our downtown lively, prosperous and truly the heart of the Novato community.

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Economic Development and Environmental Protection

Economic development and environmental protection go hand-in-hand. Without one, you will not have the other.

To create a community where we can live, work and play, we need to focus investing in economic development that creates higher paying jobs. In a recent community survey conducted by the International City Managers Association (ICMA) for the City of Novato, 75% of the respondents indicated that jobs growth in Novato was "too slow." Of the 825 respondents who completed this survey

  • 28% indicated that their household income is less than $49,999/year
  • 49% indicated that their household income is between $50,000 to $149,999/year; and
  • 23% indicated that their household income is $150,000 to $300,000 or more

This reinforces for me that we need higher paying jobs in the City of Novato so most of us will not have to commute for those jobs that sustain our quality of life. (More information on the survey)

In my meetings with business leaders, I have been impressed by the fact that they chose to locate their businesses in Novato for the same reasons we choose to live here. These executives want to see open space, breathe clean air, and enjoy the small town character of our community. They like to look out of their office windows and see cows. If we want to encourage economic growth, we must not do it at the sacrifice of the environment. If we don't protect our environment, we won't have the main drawing card that brings and keeps the kinds of companies we want in Novato. If we maintain a balance between economic health and environmental health, we will be able to continue to provide our community with a very high quality of life.

By building on the growing industries such as biotech, video games, gamification and other high tech industries that have made Novato their home, we can enhance endeavors to get higher paying jobs so we do not have to commute outside of our town for those high paying jobs.

We're making progress on a variety of issues. I know we're not done yet — and, with your help, I'll continue to work side-by-side with you to make Novato even better.

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Maintaining Our Small Town Character while Facilitating Economic Development

The current General Plan, which was adopted in 1996, reduced growth across the board from the previous plan. Projects that were presented in the past at much higher densities are coming before the Council significantly pared down and often cut even more.

In addition, the City Council, under my initiation, supported the passage of an Urban Growth Boundary (Measure G passed by the voters in 1997), which restricts growth within the city limits for the next 20 years.

Setting an Urban Growth Boundary at the city limits allows the voters to control the city's development for the next 20 years and to focus that development where infrastructure already exists. Having an Urban Growth Boundary helps maintain Novato's small town character and preserve our community separators by preventing sprawl while spurring revitalization of our downtown and renewed the community's efforts to redevelop areas that need it.

I want to see projects that are good for our community. I have voted in favor of and against projects depending on whether they were compatible with the neighborhood and the environment. In 2009, we embarked on another update of our General Plan. We formed a General Plan Steering Committee that is meeting to discuss various issues that will be brought before the City Council in 2014. This will include a vision for one of the last areas for development — Redwood Blvd between Olive and San Marin Drive. The City of Novato received an application from a developer that wants to build another shopping center on Redwood Blvd.

Do we really need another shopping center? We already have eight (8) traditional shopping centers in Novato, one of which really needs to be redeveloped by the property owners.

51% of the respondents from our 2013 community survey indicated that retail growth was the "right amount."

In examining the results of our recent survey and the many visioning exercises conducted in 2010 for the Redwood Blvd, I believe the community wants more shopping choices, not another shopping center. In those visioning exercises in 2010, many members of community expressed desires for more walking and biking paths along Redwood Blvd along with more opportunities for outdoor experiences including parks and open spaces.

To fulfill those expressed dreams by our residents, we might want to consider plans that would enhance the existing median along Redwood Blvd by creating a linear park (like South Park in San Francisco) where there are play structures, walking and biking paths, benches and picnic tables creating a sense of place. To create shopping choices, maybe we should build upon our downtown revitalization by continuing shopping choices along Redwood Blvd similar to 4th Street in Berkeley. This area needs to ensure that we do not jeopardize our work for over a decade to revitalize our downtown.

I encourage you to get involved in these long term planning efforts since they will impact our future and quality of life.

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Transportation

Improving transportation and ending gridlock on the freeway is one of the biggest challenges we face. While the final solutions must be devised on a regional level, there is much we can do and are doing locally to support that regional effort.

First, I supported the passage of Measure A, passed by the voters in 2004 to devote a half-cent of sales tax revenue for buses, roads, bike and pedestrian improvements and building a car pool and bus lane on Highway 101 through Novato to Petaluma. As a current alternate and former Board Member of the Transportation Authority of Marin, I worked to ensure that these improvements benefited Novato and the county of Marin.

Second, as a leader with the Novato Safe Routes to School Program, I have worked to help make it safer for our youth to walk and/or bike to schools. I was instrumental in getting more speed feedback signs around some of schools to remind drivers how fast they are going in comparison to the speed limit, expanding the number of schools participating in our efforts and in helping to develop grant applications for improvements around our Novato schools.

Third, I support public transit. During my career with the US Environmental Protection Agency, I used Golden Gate Transit to commute back and forth to San Francisco for over four decades. We need to continue to advocate for improvements to our bus system and be more responsive to the community's needs.

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Youth Issues

Protecting our natural resources has always been one of my priorities. To me, our youth are one of our most precious resources and must be given the ability to grow into responsible citizens. I am committed to providing our youth with the programs and facilities that will help them stay off drugs and out of gangs, and develop them into the leaders of tomorrow.

I supported more ball fields, the completion of the skate park and the Gymnastics and Youth Center, and the addition of new programs like boxing and roller hockey that keep abreast of the interest of today's youth. I have also joined the Blue Ribbon Committee in Novato which is working to eliminate alcohol and drug use by our youth, bullying and creating a positive experience for our youth.

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Juvenile Crime

Before we can make any substantial progress, everyone - every government body, every youth organization, and every parent organization - must become involved in a joint effort to meet the needs of children who are at risk. If juvenile crime isn't fought on the streets by the police, in the classrooms by the teachers and in the homes by parents, we are bound for failure.

Juvenile crime and violence must be addressed on a continual basis. I am very proud of our Police Department and its leadership role in our City and the County on gang issues. We must be diligent to prevent heinous crimes from happening in our communities. We must hold the gangs at bay, and respond quickly and justly when there are gang-related incidents. Having gone on many ride-alongs with the Novato Police Department, I can assure you of the officers' sensitivity to our youth and their ability to deal effectively with kids in trouble.

To combat juvenile crime there must be a two-pronged approach: preventative and punitive. I voted for the Youth Curfew because I am convinced that the police needed a non-criminal means to help young people who may be at risk. The curfew allows the officer to help without having to involve the juvenile in the justice system.

On the preventative side, I supported funding two School Resource Officers who worked to develop constructive and position relationships with our youth in our high schools. I support giving our youth legal and wholesome ways to socialize and have fun. That's why I supported the skate park and the Youth Activity Center.

In 1996, I initiated, along with Connie Benz, former President of the Novato Unified School District Board of Directors, the original Blue Ribbon Committee focused on preventing the use of drugs and alcohol by our youth. Among the many successful outcomes of our efforts were the Youth Court (now operated by YMCA under the auspices of our Marin County Courts) and the popular 15-minute program that stages an alcohol-related accident resulting in a mock trial.

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Seniors

Our fastest growing population in Novato is seniors (over 70 years of age). We must prepare to meet the needs of our increasing senior population. The two most important areas that we need to address for seniors are housing and transportation.

As the initiator of the Housing and Services Commission, I know that the City needs to do more to focus on providing affordable senior housing, especially in the area of assisted living facilities.

Our seniors on fixed incomes need to know that we value having them in our community and want to continue to benefit from the contributions that seniors make to Novato.

Transportation for seniors is not as easily solved. I support the City providing a local jitney service that would help our seniors move around town to shop, socialize, go to doctors, and see their families. Unfortunately, the bus system is designed for commuters but is sorely deficient in meeting the needs of people who want to traverse Novato. I will work to find the funding for the jitney service so that seniors are not imprisoned in their homes.

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Environmental Protection

One of my many passions has been working to make recycling more convenient for our residents. Long before I began serving on the Novato City Council, I led the expansion of our curbside recycling program to include cardboard. Since I have been serving on the City Council, I have worked with our Novato Disposal Company to increase our curbside recycling program to include the popular "blue can" which collects glass, plastic, paper and cardboard; and, our popular green waste can.

Also, I helped expand our electronic and household hazardous waste collection programs at our popular Recycling Center on Redwood Blvd. Recognizing that we have no safe place for disposing of our medical wastes in Novato, we recently added collection of medical wastes at our Novato Police Department.

Several years ago, after hearing from other communities about their efforts to save electrical costs by converting high pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights, I led our effort to convert 1,425 existing high pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights to Light-Emitting Diode fixtures (LED) streetlight fixtures after extensive public involvement. The city's installations were partially funded by a $352,000 grant from the US Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program and a zero percent interest financing agreement with energy provider, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). Approximately 300 LED fixtures in the installation are also equipped with programmable photocells to increase energy conservation. The photocells combine the typical photocells that turn streetlights on and off with ambient light changes using a common household timer. The result allows the streetlights to turn on at dusk, off at midnight, back on at 5:30 a.m. and off again at dawn.

By converting 35% of our streetlights to LED and programmable photocells, the city will reduce energy usage by 480,000 kilowatt-hours per year and will save more than $100,000 annually. In short: The city's power bill will be cut in half. In addition to the fiscal benefits, this project also provides environmental benefits through the reduction of 247,500 lbs of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) per year.

I have continued to advocate to complete the conversion of our remaining 2475 streetlights to reduce ongoing costs (electrical and maintenance) and GHGs. I hope that we will be able to secure a grant to complete this outstanding effort.

Many years ago, I initiated the development of our Green Building Ordinance, Construction Demolition Debris Ordinance and others which have been highlighted in our Climate Change Action Plan adopted by the Council in December 2009. There are many more programs and efforts to help protect our environment and quality of life that are included in the Climate Change Action Plan that will be incorporated into our General Plan in 2014.

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