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Redwood City E-News
Building a Great Community Together
Issue #7 ~ February, 2004
IN THIS ISSUE:
*Spring 2004 PACT Applications Available*
*City Works to Contain Budget Deficit*
*The Forum at Redwood City on February 4*
*Preschool Preview Night on Februray
10*
*General Plan Update Workshop Scheduled for
February 24*
*“Employee” Classes Open to
Public*
*Redwood City Leg of Sea Otter Classic
Bike Race Canceled*
*Whole Foods Submits Application for
Store at El Camino/Jefferson*
*About Redwood City E-News*
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Spring 2004 PACT Applications
Available
Applications are now available for the Spring, 2004 session
of PACT (Partnership Academy for Community Teamwork). The
deadline to submit an application is 5:00 pm, March 12, 2004.
Applications are available from the City Manager’s office,
located in City Hall at 1017 Middlefield Road, or by calling
650-780-7300. The application can also be downloaded and emailed
from www.redwoodcity.org/pact.
Enrollment is limited to 40 participants, who must be 18 years
of age or older.
This nine-week citizens’ academy will provide participants
with a hands-on overview of the management and governance
of Redwood City, while helping to build relationships that
will strengthen our entire community. The Spring, 2004 program
takes place each Thursday from April 8th through June 3rd
and engages in dynamic and interesting activities illustrating
how the City functions. The sessions cover subjects from Public
Works to the Police Department, from the City Council to Finance,
from the Fire Department to the Library, and more. This is
a great opportunity for interested community members to get
an insider’s view of where the City is going, become
experts on how the City operates, and help to build a great
community, together.
The objectives of PACT are to involve and engage people
in learning about and understanding the operation of City
government, and to improve communication between the City
and those that live and work here in order to strengthen and
enhance the entire community. Participants will learn how
decisions are made, how City funds are allocated, and how
City departments operate with each other, and get an opportunity
to sit down with City Council members for frank discussions
of issues, projects, politics, and plans for shaping the future
of our community.
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City Works to Contain Budget
Deficit
Like most cities in California, Redwood City’s budget
is facing a deficit this fiscal year, as it did last year.
Further, this deficit is projected to continue for the next
two-to-three years. There are plans in place to help get the
City through these difficult financial times, and City staff
is working hard to find new revenues, and to cut costs.
In future issues of Redwood City E-News, updated information
will be provided on progress in the budget situation. For
now, it’s important to provide an overview of how the
City is dealing with the budget shortfall.
The budget deficit problem has three basic causes: the State
takeaways of local funding; increases in the City’s
required PERS retirement contributions; and the slow economy
and its local effects, including loss of sales tax and businesses
leaving Redwood City. Simply put, Redwood City has a structural
problem - our expenditures are increasing every year, more
than our revenues.
With few sources of new revenue, cuts in City spending are
the only feasible way to weather the budget situation. To
do this in fiscal year ‘02/’03, all City departments
cut 2.5% in spending; in fiscal year ‘03/’04,
the police department and fire department cut 4.5% of their
spending, and all other City departments cut 7%. The spending
cuts for fiscal year ‘04/’05 will be even higher.
Each year’s cuts are additive, in that the overall budget
is reduced, and future cuts are from that lower level.
This level of spending cuts does mean that City layoffs are
a very real possibility. The City has already cut 24 vacant
positions and reduced so-called “casual” (part
time) hours the equivalent of 14 positions. We will likely
have to reduce expenses equivalent to that same number of
positions in the next fiscal year, but there aren’t
the vacant positions to do so in the same manner.
Unfortunately, these required cuts in City expenses will
result in a reduction in City services – in fact, Redwood
City has no effective choice but to reduce services to the
public. With this situation in mind, the people of Redwood
City must prepare for fewer City services, or a lower level
of services, due to this ongoing budget problem. These reductions
will affect all City departments. Redwood City, and most other
local governments, would have been much better off if the
State hadn’t continued to take local revenues, such
as City property tax and City Vehicle License Fee funds. We
are working with our legislative delegation to offset and
hopefully prevent this continuing seizure of local funds.
Be sure to read future issues of Redwood City E-News for
up-to-date information on the budget deficit.
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The Forum at Redwood City - February
4
The the speaker for the February 4th session of the Forum
at Redwood City is Ms. Shelly Poticha, Executive Director
of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Ms.
Poticha will speak on the Center’s first publication,
The New Transit Town, which examines the first generation
of these new TOD communities, highlighting best practices
and deriving lessons for the next generation.
Transit-oriented development aims to reduce family transportation
expenses, increase the share of walking and transit trips,
and generate revenue for developers, cities and transit agencies.
Yet the lack of a well-defined TOD product or delivery system
has meant that many projects have failed to live up to expectations
and that successful projects are the exception rather than
the rule. Ms. Poticha will provide insight and perspective
on these issues as they affect local development and downtown
revitalization efforts, such as those in Redwood City.
The Forum takes place on the first Wednesday of each month
at the Little Fox Theater, 2209 Broadway, in downtown Redwood
City. Doors open at 5:30 pm and the cost is $10 per person,
payable at the door. An optional no-host dinner with the presenter
and other participants will be held following the Forum for
those wishing to continue the discussion.
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Preschool Preview Night on
Februray 10
Redwood City’s Parks, Recreation & Community Services
Department and Bay Area Parent Magazine have scheduled their
9th annual “Preschool Preview Night,” a preschool
/ child care & parent resource faire that has become a
key resource for parents considering their child’s early
care and education.
This open house event will be held on Tuesday, February 10,
from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Community Activities Building,
1400 Roosevelt Avenue, in Redwood City.
Parents are invited to drop in and see displays and obtain
information from a variety of early care and education programs,
from Belmont through Palo Alto, and representatives from these
programs will be available to talk with parents about their
organizations. Parents’ questions about family child
care homes, State licensing, in-home care, quality indicators,
accreditation, and more can be answered, giving them the tools
necessary to help them make informed and intelligent decisions
about their child’s care and educational development.
In addition, the Child Care Coordinating Council will present
a mini-workshop from 7:00-7:45 on “Choosing Child Care
and Preschool.” General information on the Preschool
Preview Night is available by calling 650-780-7311.
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Second General Plan Update Workshop
Scheduled for February 24
The General Plan for Redwood City is a document that establishes
the policies, goals, and programs for the long-term physical
development of the City, and it provides the basis and foundation
for decisions on future development. The City’s existing
General Plan was adopted in 1991, and now – as we move
forward in the 21st century – our City faces new challenges
and opportunities that need to be addressed.
The second workshop takes place on Tuesday, February 24th
at 7:30 pm in the Taft Elementary School library, located
at 903 10th Avenue in Redwood City. This meeting is being
held within the Friendly Acres community in order to gain
the insight, perception, and ideas from the direct point of
view of one of Redwood City’s neighborhoods. Future
meetings will also alternate between City Hall and various
neighborhoods.
More information is available at www.redwoodcity.org/generalplan,
by calling 650-780-7234, or emailing generalplan@redwoodcity.org.
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"Employee" Classes
Open to Public
Redwood City invites members of the community to join its
employees for a variety of valuable professional seminars,
trainings, and development classes. These are top-quality,
inexpensive, and conveniently-located training programs that
will provide skills, tools, and enrichment to participants.
They also give members of the community a chance to meet City
employees as they go through the courses together.
Some classes are provided by our partner, Sequoia Adult
School, and others are offered directly through the City.
There is a modest fee for most of these classes.
Here are some of the training courses that are available
to members of the community through the City’s program:
- The Skill of Self-Marketing
- Business Writing
- Effective Meetings
- Introduction to Spanish Conversation
- Learn Excel, Power Point, or Outlook
- Providing Feedback
- Active Listening
- CityTalk Toastmasters
Community members interested in participating in any of these
exceptional courses can contact Sophie Oberstein, Redwood
City Employee Development Manager at 780-5956 for details
and a full description of all available courses. Information
is also available by going to www.redwoodcity.org/hr
and clicking on “Training and Development.”
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Redwood City Leg of Sea Otter
Classic Bike Race Canceled
The Redwood City portion of the Sea Otter Classic international
bicycle race, tentatively scheduled for this April, has been
canceled for 2004 due to the absence of suitable corporate
sponsorship.
Last year’s Redwood City portion of the race, while
experiencing some understandable first-year difficulties,
was considered a great success. Both City staff and the Sea
Otter organization were anticipating a smoother and even more
successful second year, and had held several meetings to plan
the event. However, despite best efforts all around, a suitable
corporate sponsor (which is crucial to the funding of the
race) could not be secured.
Rick Sutton, Sea Otter Classic’s Chief Operating Officer,
stated that despite promising discussions with potential sponsors,
the potential funding was not sufficient to move forward with
the Redwood City portion of the event, nor with the Santa
Cruz portion. His disappointment is compounded since he is
a 40-year resident of Redwood City. However, Mr. Sutton noted
that his intent is to work diligently to secure corporate
sponsorship that will assure a 2005 event in Redwood City,
where he and the City have enjoyed a fruitful partnership.
The Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, where it has been held
for the last 14 years, will take place as scheduled on April
15 – 18. Information about the Sea Otter Classic bicycle
race is available online at their website, www.seaotterclassic.com.
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Whole Foods Submits Application
for Store at El Camino/Jefferson
Whole Foods Markets has submitted to the City of Redwood
City an application for a use permit to open one of their
signature stores at the corner of El Camino Real and Jefferson
Avenue, at the former location of the Albertson’s Supermarket.
A traffic study for the site is underway, and the company
has also submitted an application for an architectural permit
for a major remodel of the existing building. It’s possible
the store could open by the end of 2004.
About Redwood City E-News
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